By Conrad Dudderar
Staff Writer
Having recently started his term leading an active Yukon civic club, Bill Martin is sharing ambitious plans to spread his group’s reach.
Martin, a financial advisor with Edward Jones, is the Yukon Rotary Club’s 2022-23 president.
Rotary’s motto is “Service Above Self”, and Martin wants to allow more people to serve their community.
“We’re trying to make Rotary more visible and attract more people to membership,” said Martin, who has been in Yukon Rotary for 16 years.
The Yukon Rotary Club was founded on April 23, 1967. For decades, members have gathered for lunch meetings every Tuesday as they host guest speakers and plan civic improvements.
As with other clubs in the Midwest, Yukon Rotary plans to soon start a “satellite” club for people unable to attend the regular daytime meetings.
“It’s called ‘Rotary After Dark’,” Martin said. “There are a lot of people in Yukon – especially younger people – who work in the city and can’t make it out here for lunch. Or they just don’t want to go to a luncheon four or five times a month.
“They’re more interested in civic projects – doing things to help other people.”
Final details still must be ironed out, but the new satellite club would convene at least twice monthly in the late afternoon/early evening after the normal workday ends.
Current Rotarians will coordinate these meetings and invite prospective members to join them in a social setting.
“Rotary After Dark” will allow new members to stay updated on club activities and participate in worthy community projects.
Yukon Rotary now has two dozen members – and room for more to join.
“My focus this year is to try to build it up to 35, and then in the next five years, get it to 50,” Martin said.
Besides increasing membership by starting this satellite club, Yukon Rotary’s leader wants to develop more “Rotarians.”
“A Rotary Club member would like to show up at meetings and write a check,” Martin explained. “A Rotarian wants to be involved, making projects happen.”
Keep reading The Yukon Progress for updates about the new Yukon Rotary satellite program.
PANCAKES AND MORE
The Yukon Rotary Club is widely known for its annual pancake breakfast.
But this civic group does much more to support their community.
“We solicited donations from businesses to buy protective vests for the police department and fire department,” Martin said. “We donated and helped build a new pavilion over at Sunrise Park.
Yukon Rotary contributes annually to non-profits like Yukon Public Schools’ Foundation for Excellence, Manna Pantry and Compassionate Hands, and projects like Christmas with a Cop; among many others.
The club’s latest local effort will be raising funds for the Yukon Citizens Police Academy Alumni’s AED (automated defibrillator device) project to benefit the Yukon Police Department.
Rotary’s primary mission is to help both local communities and people in need worldwide.
“Rotary has done water well projects and sanitation projects in villages in third-world countries,” Martin said.
Rotary is known internationally for raising significant funds to eradicate polio in all but two countries across the globe.
For more information about joining or supporting Yukon Rotary, contact Martin at (405) 350-0234 or Bill.Martin@edwardjones.com
