Business, professional and community leaders are forming a new chapter of Rotary Club International in Lutz, and the club is welcoming new members.
Doug Andrews, who is organizing the new Lutz Rotary Club, said the organization offers excellent opportunities to build business connections, meet new friends, get involved in service projects and take part in cultural exchanges.
Rotary Club of New Tampa is sponsoring the club until it forms its own chapter, which can happen as soon as it has 20 members, Andrews said.
The club meets on Tuesdays at 7 a.m., at Heritage Harbor Golf and Country Club, 19502 Heritage Harbor Parkway.
The club meets in the morning because Andrews said he thought it would be easier for people to make a morning meeting, especially commuters, than it would be to get to a meeting at noon.
Andrews is the foundation chair for the Rotary district including Hillsborough, Polk, Highlands and Hardee counties. That district has more than 45 clubs, with more than 2,000 members, Andrews said.
Those clubs are engaged in wide-ranging projects, he said. The Brandon club, for instance, is involved in a beekeeping project in Tanzania, while the Ybor City club is involved in a pediatric cardiac care project in Kingston, Jamaica.
Rotary Club of Tampa is providing 100 portable heart defibrillators to be carried in Tampa Police Department cruisers to provide life-saving help.
Other clubs are packing food to help feed the hungry, providing dictionaries for elementary school students, or helping out in other humanitarian ways.
Besides service projects, there also are opportunities for cultural exchanges. It includes a foreign exchange program for high school students and travel opportunities to other countries for adults, Andrews said.
Rotary also has a variety of programs aimed at helping to develop leadership among youths and young adults.
Anyone who is interested in learning about the Lutz Rotary Club can attend a meeting to see if they’d like to join, Andrews said. There is a $10 charge for a continental breakfast.
Published June 11, 2014
See this story in print: Click Here
