Service Above Self: Lehigh Rotarians busy doing just that
Fred Elliott
The motto for the Rotary Club is “Service Above Self.”
Fred Elliott, president of the Lehigh Acres Rotary Club, brought the message of what the Rotarians do and how important the club is around the world to a group of business professionals in Lehigh.
The many Rotary Clubs around the world have been credited for helping to stop the tragic disease of polio. Elliott said there are no cases of the once dreaded disease in the United States, but there are two countries that still have a problem.
In the late 1950s and early ’60s, Rotary Clubs across the United States helped to sponsor inoculations for millions of people, starting off with teenagers and then adults, in an effort to eradicate polio from the country. And, they were successful, Elliott said.
In Lehigh, the local Rotary has about 28 members – a small club compared to others in Lee County and around Florida. But the small club has done wonders, often outshining other groups that have many more members.
“Local Rotary Clubs make up eight to 250 members in Southwest Florida,” Elliott said.
“Our members are both active and retired business people from a cross section of professions. Small business owners, retired law enforcement men and women, school board members, insurance, banking, health care workers, attorneys, doctors, financial advisers, clergymen, jewelers, real estate agents, pool cleaners, airline pilots, government workers, grocers and more,” he said.
“Regionally, our club in Lehigh is part of a district. Within the district, which covers from Marco to Bradenton and from Sanibel/ Captiva to Clewiston, there are 50 clubs and just more than 2,000 members. Internationally Rotary has more than 1.2 million members,” Elliott said.
Some of the loyal efforts that Rotary supports includes humanitarian disaster relief and providing food, water and shelter to those that have suffered a natural disaster.
“Though their collaboration with other organizations like UNICEF, the U.N., the World Health Organization, ShelterBox, Global Food Banking Network, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rotary has been the diving force behind the global eradication of polio. The financial two-to-one match from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has helped eradicate polio on all but two countries worldwide,” he said. “But a big part of the local Rotary club is the work it does at home.”
Rotary organizes a 5K run during the Spring Festival in March.
“This year I participated, and thanks to the Lehigh Elementary Running Club, I beat three other runners to the finish. They were all second-graders,”?he joked.
“Recently our club handed out free tickets to a Miracle baseball game and more than 4,100 attended Kid’s Night Baseball at Hammond Stadium,” he said.
“For many, it was the first time they had the opportunity attend a baseball game in a stadium. And last week, we provided a scholarship to a deserving high school senior. Not based solely on their GP but on their essay and community service. Later this year, we will hand out dictionaries to all area third graders and thesauri to all fourth graders. For several years we have participated in Make a Difference Day. One year another local organization was the recipient of a house in an estate. Our club painted it inside and outside as well as cleaned up the landscaping. The neighbors were thankful and so was Lehigh Community Services. Fairly new to our list of events is a Haunted Walk near Halloween. In the first two years, we had more than 5,000 kids come through.
“We kept the cost to one of the most affordable in the area at $3. And if they brought a can food item, it was a dollar off,”?he said.
Elliott explained other things that are sponsored by Rotary.
“One of the most satisfying events we do each year are the family Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. We cook about 30 turkeys and six hams and the Girl Scouts help us with table settings,”?he said.
The ROTC and Interact clubs from East Lee County High School help with clean up and set up.
Last Thanksgiving, the club and volunteers cooked and served 700 meals. On Christmas Day, they served more than 500 dinners and it was all free to the public.
Elliott said the local club supports several worthwhile groups, like the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, JROTC, track and field and cross-county teams, Interact soccer and baseball. The club even sponsored a student from Hungry in a Youth Exchange program.
The club meets on Thursdays for lunch at the Microtel Inn and Suites by Wyndham Lehigh, at 1320 Business Way.
The program includes informative and entertaining speakers.
Those interested in joining the club can stop by a meeting.
“We have a great group of members,”?Elliott said.
Service Above Self: Lehigh Rotarians busy doing just that
Fred Elliott
The motto for the Rotary Club is “Service Above Self.”
Fred Elliott, president of the Lehigh Acres Rotary Club, brought the message of what the Rotarians do and how important the club is around the world to a group of business professionals in Lehigh.
The many Rotary Clubs around the world have been credited for helping to stop the tragic disease of polio. Elliott said there are no cases of the once dreaded disease in the United States, but there are two countries that still have a problem.
In the late 1950s and early ’60s, Rotary Clubs across the United States helped to sponsor inoculations for millions of people, starting off with teenagers and then adults, in an effort to eradicate polio from the country. And, they were successful, Elliott said.
In Lehigh, the local Rotary has about 28 members – a small club compared to others in Lee County and around Florida. But the small club has done wonders, often outshining other groups that have many more members.
“Local Rotary Clubs make up eight to 250 members in Southwest Florida,” Elliott said.
“Our members are both active and retired business people from a cross section of professions. Small business owners, retired law enforcement men and women, school board members, insurance, banking, health care workers, attorneys, doctors, financial advisers, clergymen, jewelers, real estate agents, pool cleaners, airline pilots, government workers, grocers and more,” he said.
“Regionally, our club in Lehigh is part of a district. Within the district, which covers from Marco to Bradenton and from Sanibel/ Captiva to Clewiston, there are 50 clubs and just more than 2,000 members. Internationally Rotary has more than 1.2 million members,” Elliott said.
Some of the loyal efforts that Rotary supports includes humanitarian disaster relief and providing food, water and shelter to those that have suffered a natural disaster.
“Though their collaboration with other organizations like UNICEF, the U.N., the World Health Organization, ShelterBox, Global Food Banking Network, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rotary has been the diving force behind the global eradication of polio. The financial two-to-one match from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has helped eradicate polio on all but two countries worldwide,” he said. “But a big part of the local Rotary club is the work it does at home.”
Rotary organizes a 5K run during the Spring Festival in March.
“This year I participated, and thanks to the Lehigh Elementary Running Club, I beat three other runners to the finish. They were all second-graders,”?he joked.
“Recently our club handed out free tickets to a Miracle baseball game and more than 4,100 attended Kid’s Night Baseball at Hammond Stadium,” he said.
“For many, it was the first time they had the opportunity attend a baseball game in a stadium. And last week, we provided a scholarship to a deserving high school senior. Not based solely on their GP but on their essay and community service. Later this year, we will hand out dictionaries to all area third graders and thesauri to all fourth graders. For several years we have participated in Make a Difference Day. One year another local organization was the recipient of a house in an estate. Our club painted it inside and outside as well as cleaned up the landscaping. The neighbors were thankful and so was Lehigh Community Services. Fairly new to our list of events is a Haunted Walk near Halloween. In the first two years, we had more than 5,000 kids come through.
“We kept the cost to one of the most affordable in the area at $3. And if they brought a can food item, it was a dollar off,”?he said.
Elliott explained other things that are sponsored by Rotary.
“One of the most satisfying events we do each year are the family Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. We cook about 30 turkeys and six hams and the Girl Scouts help us with table settings,”?he said.
The ROTC and Interact clubs from East Lee County High School help with clean up and set up.
Last Thanksgiving, the club and volunteers cooked and served 700 meals. On Christmas Day, they served more than 500 dinners and it was all free to the public.
Elliott said the local club supports several worthwhile groups, like the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, JROTC, track and field and cross-county teams, Interact soccer and baseball. The club even sponsored a student from Hungry in a Youth Exchange program.
The club meets on Thursdays for lunch at the Microtel Inn and Suites by Wyndham Lehigh, at 1320 Business Way.
The program includes informative and entertaining speakers.
Those interested in joining the club can stop by a meeting.
“We have a great group of members,”?Elliott said.
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