GUEST VIEW: My Rotary story

Editor’s note: The Charles City Rotary Club is celebrating its 100th anniversary in the community Oct. 22. A few club members are offering their perspectives on club membership leading up to that date. This is the first.

By Larry Pump, Charles City

Like most Rotary members, I joined Rotary because I was asked by an existing Rotary member to attend a meeting, simply to experience the club atmosphere and culture. After one meeting, I realized that the importance of Rotary was much larger than what I have ever imagined. In fact, I realized that Rotary was one of the most important organizations in the world, and I wanted to be a part of it.

After joining Rotary in 2006, one of my favorite things was the opportunity to interact with fellow Rotary members within our community and throughout the world. In addition to our own club’s weekly meetings, I have attended Rotary club meetings in other cities in Iowa, as well as in Hawaii, Austria and Ireland.

In each meeting, the club members are following a meeting routine similar to our own club, so it’s easy to follow along. As a visitor, not only is it a fun outing, but I have been treated like a dignitary by each club.

All Rotary clubs strive to do good things. The Charles City club has had numerous projects during my years in Rotary that I have participated in. To name a few, there was the playground project at Wild Wood park, tree planting project throughout the Charles City area and the distribution of fire extinguishers and first-aid kits in partnership with the Charles City Fire Department.

Over the course of four years, I served as the chair for the Group Study Exchange program. This Exchange program promotes goodwill and understanding around the globe, and brought groups to Charles City from India, Poland, Italy and New Zealand.

One of the things that makes me the most proud of Rotary is the effort by Rotary International for the eradication of polio from the face of the earth. We are not there yet, but in 2018 there were only three polio-endemic countries in the world, down from 125 countries in 1988 when the effort began. The three countries left are Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan.

Without Rotary’s eradication efforts since 1988, it is estimated that there are 17.4 million people who are healthy who would have otherwise been paralyzed by polio.

When I attend our club meeting each week, it is very rewarding to interact with the other members of our club, many of whom are the leaders in the Charles City area. Each person is committed to providing community service, which makes the community a better place. During my years in the Charles City Rotary Club, I have served as president and board member. I was also among an estimated 33,000 Rotarians who attended the Rotary International convention in Atlanta in 2017. This gave me a chance to interact with fellow Rotarians from around the world.

Two final notes, first, each year, our club has provided approximately $3,000 in scholarships to Charles City High School seniors. I have been fortunate enough to be involved in the awarding of some of these scholarships. The gratitude reflected by these students is heartwarming and makes the whole effort worthwhile.

Secondly, the Charles City club has been the home of numerous district governors over the years, including Ralph Smith just this past year. The Charles City Rotary Club exemplifies the Rotary theme of “Service above Self,” and I am proud to be a member of the Charles City Rotary Club.