The Re-Charter of UVU Rotaract Club
On April 29, 2017 the UVU campus hosted the Central Wasatch Rotaract Leadership training
as part of the UVU Rotaract club Re-charter
The Re-charter of UVU Rotaract Club/ Utah International Mountain Forum
On April 29, 2017 the UVU campus hosted the Central Wasatch Rotaract Leadership training as part of the UVU Rotaract club Re-charter, a Rotary International effort to establish College level clubs in communities and Universities. This month seven years ago, the Orem Rotary Club sponsored the Utah Valley University Rotaract club. It was a wonderful coincidence that around the same time this year a group of dedicated individuals got together and worked once again to re-establish the club on campus.
Rotary International is a global community of committed professionals working together to serve others and advance peace. More than 1.2 million members in over 34,000 Rotary clubs worldwide volunteer in communities at home and abroad. The Utah Rotary District 5420 is made up of 48 Rotary clubs. Rotary clubs sponsor University and Community based Rotaract service clubs for young men and women ages 18 to 30 who are dedicated to community and international service. Its membership totals over184,000 in more than 8,000 clubs worldwide. Individual Rotary clubs sponsor Rotaract clubs and offer guidance and support, making the Rotaract clubs true “partners in service” and key members of the family of Rotary.
District Governor Shaun Michel at UVU
VIP’s of Utah Rotary District 5420 who shared their “Rotary Moments” listing years of local and international service transmitting the ideals of Rotary of “Service Above Self” included: District Governor Shaun Michel, PDG Tom Powell (instrumental in the establishment of other Rotaract clubs in the Utah District), PDG Dean Jackson, PDG Wally Brown the( “father of Rotaract” in Utah), PDG Penny Atkinson (The first woman District Governor in Utah), PDG Jerry Summerhays, DGE Bev Christy, Orem Rotary Club President Bruce Early, Incoming Utah Rotary District Youth Chair Miriam Barth, Jose Velasco Midvalley Rotaract Advisor and Midvale Rotary President, Stephanie Velasco, District Rotaract Representative and Martha Velasco, District Rotaract Chair. Also present to support the Re-charter were Salt Lake Rotaract President Colby Judd, BYU Rotaract Advisor Chantel Sloan, Midvalley Rotaract VP Ana Montes and Dixie University Rotaract Past President Jayme Pickett. They conveyed to those present how their involvement in Rotary has shaped their lives and helped them contribute to the Objectives of Rotary.
PDG Tom Powell speaks before the audience
The morning culminated with learning about Rotary; a motivational presentation that was especially designed for the Rotaractors and Rotarians; and engaging with an international Rotaract Club partner who presented a need in their community via a skype session experience with the Rotaract Clubs of Bosnia and later Piedras Negras, Mexico. The local Rotaract clubs present will support the development of the service project abroad using funds that will be matched by the international Rotaract partner and may be focused on Rotary’s six community service priorities: peace and conflict prevention/resolution, disease prevention and treatment, water and sanitation, maternal and child health, basic education and literacy, and economic and community development.
Group photo after signing a charter
The UVU Rotaract Club Advisor ,Baktybek Abdrisaev , Senior Lecturer of History and Political Science and former Ambassador to the United States and Canada from 1997 to 2005, brings to this effort his global experience and expertise that supports the ideals of a Rotaractor: to volunteer locally and internationally, network and build vocational knowledge, develop leadership skills, establish a worldwide network of service-minded people, gain fellowships that last a lifetime, change lives, make peace and have fun!
Five founding members of the club have been raised or trained in the Rotary experience of “Service Above Self” participating in international projects and leadership development in Utah Rotary District 5420. Joining them are 15 students who will journey with them in becoming the tenth Rotaract club in the Rotary District and joining the ranks of the active Rotaract Clubs at Utah State University, Dixie University, Westminster College, Salt Lake Community (University of Utah), Midvalley, Roosevelt , Ogden, BYU and Southern Utah University.
Martha Velasco, Past President and Utah District 5420 Rotaract Chair
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STUDENT REFLECTIVE ESSAYS
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Wyatt Thompson: student learning how to be Rotarian
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Aldon Trimble: global networking opportunities through UVU Rotaract Club
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Jocelyn Lujan: time to joint Rotaract at UVU
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