Rotary Club of Ladysmith 50th Anniversary Meeting and Celebration!
Eileen Beltgens
Thursday, October 1st the Rotary Club of Ladysmith invited members, district leadership, Rotarians from District 5020 from Washington and BC, and community friends and leaders to our Zoom celebration of 50 years of fellowship and service in Ladysmith.
What fun it was to hear some of the stories, especially in a video from charter members Pat Bryan and Bob Bafaro. We recognize the depth of the legacy our current membership enjoys from the past, and look forward, inspired to re-invent our service for the future! We so appreciated those who took the time to attend and to support our efforts!
We heard Mayor Stone read the Proclamation to create Rotary Day and Rotary Club of Ladysmith Week; we welcomed guests – community members and Rotarians throughout the BC-Washington Rotary District; we revisited a list of projects completed over these 50 years and some stories about the past; we heard from the first woman and a two-time President who joined Ladysmith Rotary thirty years ago; student Interact leaders celebrated the past and the future; a fellow Rotarian and historian summed up the community building and support in his discussion about why Rotarians and members of other service organizations do what they do for their communities with passion and commitment. It was a great evening to be inspired and hopeful amid challenges in how we meet and work together.
Ladysmith Rotarians are a small club committed to working collaboratively with other organizations to build our community. It takes a community of people to build community.
Celebrating 50 Years of Service!
Using the money we raised at our November Guatemalan Fashion Show and other donations we have been able to purchase 44 refurbished Chromebooks. The first 8 were brought in luggage in January and the rest are coming through our friends in Texas. 
