It’s been an amazing year being the president of the Rotary Club of Wilsonville. I want to thank everyone for all of your support of the club over the last year.
We started out with the 16th annual Through A Child’s Eyes event at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, bringing children together with their inmate mothers in a meaningful and touching event that builds important connections that last a lifetime.
Then four very successful Wilsonville Rotary Summer Concerts followed, amid some of the hottest weather we’ve ever had in Wilsonville. In fact we had to postpone one of the concerts due to extreme heat close to 110 degrees! Thanks to the generosity of the Wilsonville community and Rotarians, we surpassed our all time record of collections for End Polio Now, with more than $12,000 over the four concerts!
Fall and winter brought our famous omelet breakfasts and dinners to support schools, veterans and community volunteers. When Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas Gulf Coast in late summer, followed by Hurricane Maria bringing devastation to Puerto Rico, the Rotary Club of Wilsonville sprung into action and created Live Eggs, a musical breakfast fundraiser to benefit the victims. Our members brought their passion and organizational skill to bear in making this event happen in a very short period of time on September 16. Local businesses supported us with donations and sponsorships, and local musicians Josh Bennett, Christina Cooper, Jane Deaux and the Whiskey Darlings donated their talents. The event raised $5,622. The proceeds went to two donor-advised funds that Rotary International created to supply aid and comfort on the ground — the Hurricane Emergency Relief Fund (Puerto Rico, Florida) and the Gulf Coast Disaster Relief Fund (Texas).
And one of the most fun and exciting events of the year was our annual Heart of Gold celebration in which we honor Wilsonville’s First Citizen, an exemplar of volunteerism and giving back to our community. We raised more than $64,000 for our community, including TACE, at our western-themed event.
I think my fellow Rotarians join me in being most touched by our work with children and youth. The re-ignited International Student Exchange program sent a Wilsonville student to Russia, Lily Burhop, who gained from cultural experiences far away from their comfort zones and which will positively influence their future educational and career aspirations. Host families in Wilsonville equally enjoyed a 6 month visit from Samantha Bulholzer from Mexico. Everyone loves showing off our state and region, giving these students rich experiences and creating friendships that will last a lifetime.
And recently I attended the Wilsonville High School Senior Awards night on Monday where we awarded three $2,500 scholarships. It was a humbling experience to see the degree of community involvement and support we have for our students in Wilsonville from all of our service organizations. Rotarians can all be proud of the work we do and the financial assistance we are able to give to these young men and women to advance their college dreams.
I will never forget what an amazing year this has been and the new and old friendships that were made and fostered over the last year. A million thanks and a giant Rotarian hug to Wilsonville for your continued support of the volunteer efforts of our Club.
Please join me in welcoming and thanking Laura LaJoie, Wilsonville Rotary’s incoming president starting on July 1, for taking on challenging but very rewarding year-long adventure!
Best to all,
Tim Crowley