The Chesley Rotary Club has disbanded after 67 years due to declining numbers in membership.
The Township of Arran-Elderslie recently posted on Facebook, thanking the group for their many contributions saying, “We appreciate their many projects in the community and thank them for their service.”
Chesley Rotary President Brenda Scott explains, “We were down to ten members, many of whom were struggling with either health issues of their own, or caregiver issues which limited their ability to participate fully.”
Scott says efforts to recruit more members were unsuccessful, “I think there’s a tendency for people to not join as many organizations anymore, so we made the sad decision that we would need to disband.”
She adds, while many people were happy to help out with fundraisers and events, full membership was not something a lot of them had time for, “A lot of young parents for example have so many demands on them. I understand that it’s difficult to then give the amount of time that would be required to participate fully in an organization like Rotary.”
Scott notes some of the contributions the Chesley Rotary Club made to the community include helping to build tennis courts, a picnic shelter and the Heritage Trail. Scott adds, “We’ve contributed a lot to the local school. We had to try and save the school when it was under threat, and I guess we managed to delay it a bit.” Scott notes what used to be Chesley District High School is now Chesley District Community School (JK- 8).
She also notes, “We’ve contributed a lot to the medical clinic and to the hospital. In fact, as we have disbanded our club all of the monies that were left in our various accounts were donated to the local hospital.”
Scott says the Chesley Rotary Club had fundraisers they’d been doing for years and some will continue, “What we’ve done as we’ve closed up is we’ve provided the information and contacts and assistance for other organizations in the community to pick those up and use them as their own fundraisers.”
Scott says the popular Rotary poinsettia sale campaign is going to be picked up by the local lawn bowling club and the fish fry is going to be picked up by the local Kinsmen Club.
She also notes Rotary Clubs have contributed to the effort to eradicate Polio around the world. This past August, the Africa Regional Certification Commission certified the World Health Organization African Region as wild polio-free. There are just two countries left on earth that still see wild polio: Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Scott hopes the spirit of giving back to one’s community stays strong in Chesley, “I’d love to see what we’re already seeing which is people getting involved in local community projects.”
She adds,”Contributing to your local community is so important. Parks, sports facilities, things like that, they make a community stronger.”
Scott says, while the Chesley Branch is now gone, there are numerous other Rotary clubs in Grey Bruce, “I would like people to think, if you’re in another community and there is a Rotary club there, maybe take a look and see. It is an enjoyable experience to be a Rotarian, and hopefully some of the other clubs will be able to recruit.”