Sunrise Rotary Resumes In-Person Meetings

For Marco Island Sunrise Rotarians, Tuesday, June 8, was a very special day as they returned to in-person meetings for the first time in almost 15 months. Late in March of 2020, the club had ceased meeting in person to limit members’ potential exposure during the Covid-19 Pandemic. 

“The board of directors met over a year ago and decided it was in the best interests of our club membership that we err on the side of caution and limit those personal interactions,” said Club President Erik Condee. “Instead, we chose to move to a ‘Zoom’ format for our meetings.”

“At first, we had to educate our members as to the process and deal with some technical issues, but we quickly overcame those and, slowly but surely, our numbers grew on a weekly basis. I credit our membership for making those adjustments in how to create more interesting speakers to address the club via this new medium,” he said.

Rotary International encouraged the use of the virtual meeting format to keep its membership engaged during that difficult time. It did not dictate the format to be used but encouraged using the best one that would fit the needs of the individual clubs and their members. Rotary also encouraged the meeting subject matter be condensed to keep members engaged and interested in the programs and speakers.

At the June 8 meeting, retired Federal Trade Commission Chief Administrative Law Judge Stephen J. McGuire spoke to the club regarding his second career as an author, reflecting on his recent political thriller, “Prior Restraint.” McGuire now lives in retirement in Naples, FL, and spoke of his love of writing and his new book.

For members of Sunrise Rotary and other service clubs and fraternal organizations, the last 15 months have been challenging because of restrictions on activities and the philanthropic work in which they normally would be engaged.

One of the largest events held on the island during prior years involved the Marco Island Seafood and Music Festival. Members of the island’s two Rotary Clubs and the Marco-based Kiwanis Club would join forces in hosting the popular three-day festival. Receipts from that successful festival were spread among the three clubs and used to fund many of their philanthropic efforts. That event and many others were placed on hold out of an abundance of caution but, thankfully, those restrictions are being relaxed and there are signs of a return to normal. 

Another great program run by Sunrise Rotary is called “Gift of Life.” That program involves providing necessary heart surgery for children in underdeveloped third-world nations. Sunrise Rotary has been able to raise approximately $10,000 to help fund that program over the last year due to generous donations by outreach to the community. “The Marco Island community has been so gracious in their support of this wonderful cause,” said John Campo, chair of that effort for the club.

This year, the club continued its generous efforts to donate scholarships to deserving graduating seniors from high schools on Marco Island and Everglades City who will be continuing on to higher educational pursuits.

The club meets every Tuesday at 7:30 am for breakfast and a meeting that includes a different presenter each week. They welcome potential members to visit and learn about Rotary and the good it does.

The club will induct its leadership team for the 2021-2022 Rotary Year on June 18 at CJ’s on the Bay starting at 6 pm. New officers and board members will begin their responsibilities on July 1, 2021.