Building a better community
Take a look around Pell City, and chances are the good works you see in just about every corner result from people serving others for a greater good. In these parts, they call them Rotarians, where the principle, “service above self,” guides their actions.
See for yourself.
A nurse, a doctor and staff now tend to patients at a community clinic, a scene unaffordable for so many and non-existent just a few years ago.
A food pantry is well-stocked, giving those in need an opportunity to feed their families during hard times.
An adult learns to read for the first time through a literacy program, and high school students are learning to help one another cope with depression and suicide through creative, powerful podcasts.
Meals are delivered to first responders on the job as a thank you for jobs well done.
A museum opens, capturing the oral histories of the city’s citizens before their voices are lost to subsequent generations.
The list is long. The needs are longer. That’s why Pell City Rotary Club dedicates its efforts to serving the community year after year, acts that have been ongoing since 1974 when a group of business leaders founded the club with only 25 members.
Today, membership has more than tripled, and the growth continues. So does their service.
In many instances, Rotarians roll up their sleeves and go to work, volunteering for a variety of causes – building a playground, stocking the shelves at the food pantry, helping with local festivals or donating a pint of blood.
They also serve by raising funds for thousands of dollars in grants designed to make the community a better place. Those grants are funded by three major fundraisers and an endowment begun by a Rotarian who envisioned the club’s potential impact.
The Father-Daughter Dance headed by Rotarians of the Year, Blair Goodgame and Meg Clements, is a source of tremendous pride and anticipation throughout the city. Little girls spend quality time with their ‘dates’ – their daddies – for a magical evening. And the smiles seen throughout are memories that last a lifetime.
The Pell City Rotary Charity Golf Tournament Ray Cox Memorial, now in its 43rd year, is a coming together of golfers, sponsors and Rotarians to raise much needed funds for worthwhile causes throughout the city.
And the tennis tournament each October operates much the same way – bringing players, sponsors and Rotarians together to provide strong foundations upon which worthy projects are built across Pell City’s landscape.
Rotary’s newest community effort to promote Rotary and to involve the entire family to prepare the Christmas season is the Pell City Rotary Club Family Fun 5K Run fundraiser to benefit the newly reopened Sherrif’s Boys Ranch. The run will be held at Lakeside Park in December 2023.
The run event is yet another example of seeing a need and finding a way to fill it.
While Rotary Club of Pell City is like a melting pot of men and women who hail from different backgrounds, careers and cultures, they make good things happen throughout the city because of their common desire to serve others.
“We cannot say enough about the financial support our community lends to our efforts,” said Rotary President Serge Brazzolotto. “Because they give, we can give. And when we invest in projects throughout our city, whether it’s volunteering or providing funding, the quality of life is enhanced and our community becomes a better place to live, work and raise a family.”
Just take a look around, and you’ll see just how Rotary, working together with the community it serves, fulfills that guiding principle year after year.
