The Rotary Club of Land O’ Lakes used to operate independently.
Then, the club merged with the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel Noon, and now the Land O’ Lakes group has become a satellite club of the Wesley Chapel group.
As the Land O’ Lakes group gains strength, it plans to become a stand-alone club again, said Terri Dusek, who chairs the committee for the current satellite group.
(Photos courtesy of Terri Dusek)
The group wants to function as a Land O’ Lakes club because it recognizes needs within the Land O’ Lakes community, and it wants to play a role in helping to meet them, Dusek said.
For instance, one idea is to provide some outdoor musical instruments that can be used by both children and adults at the new playground at the Land O’ Lakes Community Center, on Land O’ Lakes Boulevard, said Sandy Graves, a member of the satellite club.
That’s just an idea at this point, but it could become one of the club’s projects in the future, she said.
The Land O’ Lakes group also would like to take over the duties of serving a Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving Day at the Keystone Community Church, on State Road 54 near U.S. 41, Dusek said.
“The reason it’s a ‘Why now’ to be quite honest with you is because when I joined the Rotary, I thought I was joining the Land O’ Lakes Rotary, and then I found out I was joining the Wesley Chapel Rotary because they had merged,” Dusek said.
She didn’t have a problem with it, but she realized that the service projects the club was doing were in Wesley Chapel, she said.
That made sense, because that’s where the club met, but she felt there were needs in Land O’ Lakes that a Land O’ Lakes club could address.
“We feel there’s plenty to do in Land O’ Lakes,” Graves agreed.
As the economy improves, the women thought it made sense to revive the service club.
“I think we needed to re-energize,” Graves said.
So far, the group has about 20 members, but it hopes to attract more, Dusek said.
Joining the group costs about $1,000 each year. That covers the weekly breakfasts, and a portion goes the Rotary Foundation and to Rotary International, she said.
The group’s goals are still being formulated.
And, while it builds strength, it will continue to be a satellite of the Wesley Chapel Rotary, Dusek said.
“We have the support of the Wesley Chapel group, which has a little bit over 100 members now. If we need assistance, or we need help from them, they’re like our mother club, and they will give us assistance,” Dusek said.
“They help us get off the ground, until we’re solid. Then we can charter our own new club, if we so choose to at that time,” she added.
“It’s just a great organization,” Dusek said.
“If you are looking to feel good by spreading the love and helping other people, that’s really what Rotary is all about. ‘Service above self.’ That’s our motto,” she said.
The Land O’ Lakes group meets on Fridays at 8 a.m., at the Lake Padgett Estates East Clubhouse, at 4533 Savanah Way. It is right off Collier Parkway in Lake Padgett Estates East.
The meetings include breakfast served by Lake Padgett Bistro.
For more information, contact Dusek at (813) 340-7973 or .
Published September 23, 2015
