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Why did YOU join Rotary? We all have a Rotary story to tell. And it's this compelling narrative that demonstrates your "higher why" of belonging to a service organization that puts service above self. I joined because Jim Gilmore said "I always thought you'd make a good Rotarian, Mike." But that's not why I joined. I joined because I had been involved with Rotary for years. Yep, even before I officially became a Rotarian in June 2018, I had volunteered to teach Junior Achievement at St. Patrick School when the Brighton Rotary sponsored that program. I had taught it in Jacksonville, Fla. and enjoyed it. They needed more volunteer teachers. So I jumped in. I also had attended more than a dozen Rotary meetings over the years when I was the Blood Donor DRD Rep for the American Red Cross. I helped Doris Longfellow (pictured at left) organize the first Livingston County Rotary Club Challenge Blood Drive when she was being treated for cancer. I felt like an honorary Rotarian. But the main reason I joined...was because I felt welcomed. I fit in. Even at 7:30 in the morning, Sunrise Rotary is a rowdy bunch. We like to talk. We love to laugh. And we aren't required to sing. Barbara Brotman, a freelance writer and former Chicago Tribune journalist, instructs us on how to tell our own personal "Rotary Why" story in The Rotarian: Why tell it? Because it gives outsiders like me a chance to learn about what Rotary means to you. Because you can raise funds more effectively if you tell a powerful story about why those funds matter. And because you can strengthen your bonds with other Rotarians and deepen your club’s sense of community by telling a story that touches you all. Is your life richer because of Rotary? Has it enabled you to travel to someplace fascinating? Given you a window into a different side of your own town? Let you participate in a service project that changed someone’s world? --J. Michael Lenninger
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