A Message from the Club President

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Message from Rob Tessmer, Jr.

President, Rotary Club of Inverness, 2011 - 2012

Greetings!

Thank you to past president Charlie Richer for all his tireless work to benefit our community and, in the process, making our club the Best Large Club in District 6950 for Rotary year 2010 – 2011.

And thank you, fellow Rotarians, for trusting me to lead our club for the next 12 months.

I hope to return that trust by enabling each and every one of you to make the most of your Rotarian experience. This, in fact, is my theme for the year: “IT IS WHAT YOU MAKE OF IT.”

The Rotary Club of Inverness is an OUTSTANDING club. We contribute to our own community and the world community. We especially enjoy helping the youth in Inverness.

Let’s adopt these three goals this year to become even better.

1. Engage each and every member of the club to get involved in some way.

2. Increase our club’s “brand awareness” in the community.

3. Involve the “family of Rotary” in our club.

GOAL #1

I cannot tell you to go out and be a good Rotarian. Only you can find that thing inside that makes you want to join a committee, help on a fundraiser, or get up early on Saturday for a service project.

Perhaps you only want to attend lunch meetings, give a few happy dollars here and there. I promise to make our meetings fun and enjoyable. But I hope that you will take ownership of some aspect of our Rotary Club, whether it is a local service project, a fundraiser, an international project, a youth event, or even the administrative inner workings of our organization.

GOAL #2

 We need to let the community know that we are THE service club in Inverness.  I want to see our Rotary Wheel all over this town, in the newspaper, on TV, on signs, so that when one person asks “What is that wheel thing?” the answer will be, “That’s Rotary; they do so much for our community.”

Wear your pin every day, not just to meetings, and people will ask you about it. Bring a friend or colleague to a meeting. Spread the word about our Rotary Club, and be specific. Talk about YOUR favorite part of being a member.

GOAL #3

 We need to involve the Family of Rotary -- our spouses, children, grandchildren. We sometimes fail to include our families in Rotarian endeavors.  You know how much fun we have with each other at our projects and events; why not share that with your family? I am sure you will be more involved if you can combine your two families.

Our new team of officers, directors, service coordinators and committee chairs is committed to making the most of the coming year, not only in the Four Avenues of Service, but also in achieving our goals for the year.

If we set our sights on these goals, service projects won’t seem like chores, we can achieve or exceed our fundraising goals, and we will have more fun each and every week than we already do.

IT IS WHAT YOU MAKE OF IT.  Let's have a FANTASTIC Rotary year.

Rob Tessmer, Jr.

President, Rotary Club of Inverness

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Founded in 1971, the Rotary Club of Inverness was the first Rotary Club in Citrus County. We are proud to have sponsored, directly or indirectly, every Rotary Club, and every Rotary-associated club in the county.

We are proud to have contributed to a major landmark in the City of Inverness, the well-known Whispering Pines Park. Many years ago our club was instrumental in securing and assisting in development of the area for park use, and our Rotary wheel is on the pillars we built at the park's entrance.  Today the facility is used by residents and visitors from all over the county.

Our current emphasis is youth development. In fulfilling this mission we award scholarship funds to Citrus High School seniors as well as to Withlacoochee Technical Institute students annually.

We honor two outstanding students from Citrus High  School and two from Inverness Middle School each month while school is in session as Rotary Students of the Month. They are recognized during one of our weekly Tuesday meetings in the Van Der Valk Restaurant at Lakeside Country Club, with proud parents or guardians also in attendance.  Additionally, we sponsor two students who attend the annual Seminar for Tomorrow’s Leaders [S4TL], a week-long program held on the campus of Florida Southern College.

To raise money for these and other activities, we promote major annual fundraising that includes a TV Auction, a Golf Tournament, and other events. Members provide funds through weekly giving of happy/sad dollars and the celebration of anniversaries and birthdays. 

Our club is an affiliate and supporter of Rotary International, whose efforts to eradicate polio, with the aid of the World Health Organization and multiple governments, is now coming to closure. Through Rotary International our club participates in projects throughout the world, including water and food resource development and disaster relief.

Membership in Rotary is by invitation. If you are interested in the works we do, seek out a Rotarian and introduce yourself. We welcome those who are interested in living our motto of promoting Service Above Self.