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90 Years of Service Above Self

Think for a moment about the things you remember most affectionately about Ukiah.

Maybe it’s a summer day watching baseball at Anton Stadium, or a summer night enjoying the fair. Maybe it’s a play at the Ukiah Playhouse or a leisurely afternoon at the Sun House Museum. Or maybe it’s playing on the Rocket Ship at Todd Grove Park as a kid—or watching your kids play on it today.

Did you know that all of these things have been volunteer community projects for our local Ukiah Rotary Clubs?

This April, our Ukiah Rotary Clubs will celebrate 90 years of service in Ukiah and Mendocino County. During the last 90 years, our local Rotarians have built an incredible resume of accomplishments in the spirit of Rotary’s motto: Service Above Self.

The highlights here in Ukiah include helping with the construction of Anton Stadium, the Willow Tree Theater, duck ponds and barbeque facilities at the Ukiah Fairgrounds, the Ukiah Playhouse, park grounds at the Sun House Museum, the Ukiah Senior Center kitchen facilities, the pocket park near the downtown post office, and our Todd Grove Park Rocket Ship.

Local Rotarians have cooked the annual 4-H breakfast for 90 years, donated dictionaries to thousands of third graders, prepared barbeques and breakfast for hundreds of community events, volunteered at community non-profits like Plowshares and Mayacama, hosted new teacher luncheons and farmers’ night events, assisted veterans (including Honor Flight program trips for veterans), provided thousands of dollars in college sponsorships, and hosted our Ukiah High School’s Interact Club, which helps teenagers discover the gift of service above self.

Our local Rotarians have also contributed outside the Ukiah area, sponsoring student exchange programs, a water project in India, and an immunization day in Ghana; adopting a village in Africa; providing a school bus, ambulances and solar power to non-profit organizations in Mexico, and contributing more than $150,000 to help eradicate the deadly Polio disease.

This year, Rotarians from all over the world have been challenged to “be a gift to the world.” And I have to say, even with our long list of achievements, Ukiah Rotarians are working harder than ever to meet the challenge of giving back to the community we serve.

Today, Ukiah Rotary Clubs continue this service by hosting events like the Ukiah Triathlon, the Super Bowl Party, the Mendocino Monster Bike Race, and Guitars for Troops. The revenue from these fantastic events allows Ukiah Rotarians to continue funding high school scholarships and the UHS Interact club, assist other non-profit organizations, help veterans and their families who live in our area, and complete local and international community projects. 

To celebrate all that our local Rotarians have achieved, local Ukiah Rotary Clubs are hosting a celebration dinner on Monday April 27 at 6:00 p.m. at the Ukiah Garden Café. Our speaker will be Rotary International Polio Spokesperson Steve Brown. The cost is $30 per person, and space is limited to a hundred people. If you would like to attend, please email your RSVP to kdaly13@sbcglobal.net before April 19.

Are you interested giving back to the Ukiah community as a Rotarian?

New membership is extremely important to us, and we are always eager to hear from individuals interested in our mission to join a Rotary club. Rotarians are business and professional leaders who take an active role in their communities while greatly enriching their personal and professional lives through their service.

In Ukiah, two Rotary Clubs serve our community.

The South Ukiah Rotary Club meets on Thursday at 7:00 a.m. at the North State Cafe, 263 N. State St. in Ukiah. For more information visit:  http://www.southukiahrotary.org/

The Rotary Club of Ukiah meets on Tuesdays at noon at the Ukiah Garden Café, 1090 S. State St. in Ukiah. For more information visit: http://ukiahrotary.org/

As always, our mission at UPD is simple: to make Ukiah as safe as possible. If you have suggestions on how we can improve please feel free to call me. If you would like to know more about crime in your neighborhood, you can sign up for telephone, cell phone and email notifications by clicking the Nixle button on our website: www.ukiahpolice.com.

 


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