The Rotary Club of Milledgeville recently launched two new membership options, the Milledgeville Rotary E-Club and the Milledgeville Rotary Impact Club.
The E-Club is primarily for educators and administrators. It is chaired by Gina Whitaker, the Baldwin County School District’s executive administrative assistant to Superintendent Dr. Kristina Brooks. E-Club still takes part in service projects, scheduled meetings, and local initiatives.
The Impact Club is chaired by Erin Andrews, CEO of Marketing USA and past president of the Rotary Club of Milledgeville, and allows people to be involved with the club’s service projects without being required to attend the club’s traditional weekly meeting. Members of this club will have the flexibility to be involved with projects and programs with remote and in-person options.
“For many years, the Rotary Club has had a weekly in-person meeting requirement. As the years have passed, it has become difficult for people to commit to that requirement so, as a club, we developed two new membership options to give people flexibility and remote options to stay involved,” said Andrews. “Though these are new membership options, all of the clubs overlap, work on service projects, and work together as one union rather than separate entities.”
The Rotary Club of Milledgeville was recently named Medium Club of the Year and a Gold Club for its active membership and local impact. Public Service Chair Kristin Villarreal, who is the former membership chair and won Membership Chair of the Year for the district, described the club as “vibrant” with a diversity of members from various counties and backgrounds.
“We have 72 members from surrounding counties and our own. We also have several members who serve on the district level,” said Villarreal. “Rotary’s motto is “Service above self” and it's because of our members that we can make a difference in our community.”
Villarreal has been a part of The Rotary Club of Milledgeville for four years and joined because of the service initiative. This year she was selected as Rotarian of the Year for the club.
Andrews has been a Rotary member for about six years and initially joined the network for her business but stayed because of the impact she was making through club projects and programs. She was recently named Rotarian of the Year for the district.
“People join the club for various reasons, but they stay because of the relationships we build and the impact we make annually,” said Villarreal.
“We are always giving back to the community and surrounding areas. Right now, we are collecting donations for the CASA program to make care packages. We recently finished handing out books at the Back-to-School Bash and assisting with the Baldwin County School District’s summer food distribution,” added Andrews. “The Rotary Club has no political affiliation and is together because each of us want to make a difference and provide for a community that has always provided for us.”
The Rotary Club of Milledgeville will continue to meet weekly on Thursdays from noon to 1 p.m. at the Club at Lake Sinclair, located at 3700 Sinclair Dam Rd. in Milledgeville. To learn about meetings and membership for the new E-Club or Impact Club visit milledgevillerotary. org.