Local Rotary clubs begin a new year dedicated to ‘service above self’

By Sharyn Daly
Del Mar Rotary Club president

Welcome to the wonderful world of Rotary where friends gather to promote “service above self” activities and put them into action in our community. Rotarians are business and professional men and women who are community leaders united worldwide to conduct humanitarian projects, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations and help build goodwill and peace in the world.

Rotary is the world’s first and foremost service club. It originated in Chicago in 1905 and the name Rotary was chosen because the club then met weekly in rotation at each member’s place of business. The Del Mar Rotary Club was established May 4,1954 and is part of District 5340 consisting of 58 clubs in San Diego and Imperial Counties. Learn more about Rotary and join our 1.2 million members internationally who put humanitarian needs above themselves at Rotary.org.

A new year begins each July and the new presidents extend an invitation to you to come join us for a “free lunch” and find out about us as we “Reach within to embrace humanity” which is this year’s vision from our international president, Kalyan Banerjee of India. Please read about The Del Mar Rotary Club on the web at DelMarRotary.org. President Sharyn Daly invites you on Thursdays for our lunch meeting at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church Hall on 15th St. in Del Mar. In Rancho Santa Fe, president Alan Balfour (RanchoSantaFeRotary.org) invites you for lunch at noon on Mondays at The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe. The Del Mar-Solana Beach Sunrise President Kirk Collins (DMSBrotary.org) invites you for breakfast on Fridays (7:15 a.m.) at the Doubletree Hotel in Carmel Valley.

The Rotary clubs have a business meeting and an interesting speaker at each meeting. Each club is comprised of five areas of service: Community, International, New Generations, Vocational and Club service. These committees work hard to make a difference in the Del Mar, Solana Beach, Rancho Santa Fe, Carmel Valley areas, as well as internationally. Our fundraisers and generous sponsors support our good works.

We also have lots of fun. Del Mar has just finished a Sunset Soiree at the Del Mar Plaza where silent and live auction items raised over $25,000 for the committee work while we watched a great sunset and danced with cocktails and appetizers supplied by local restaurants.
The next fundraiser is the “free” Chili and Quacker’s challenge where locals and restaurants compete for the Chili Trophy while watching their “yellow rubber ducky” surf the waves and race toward the beach. The Del Mar lifeguards produce the fastest ducks who win great prizes. This local community park day is planned for Saturday, Oct. 15, from 3-6 p.m. Watch for opportunities to sponsor ducks and be a corporate sponsor for the event. Check it out at ChiliandQuackers.com or DelMarRotary.org.

We look forward to meeting you and finding you a place in our organizations to enjoy participating in “service above self” activities and helping our community and world.

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