Over the past 31 years the Springfield area has been a primary source of real estate business for my husband and me.  The reason I became a West Springfield Rotarian is easy to understand - Rotary International is renowned worldwide for the members service to their community as well as to international projects such as the eradication of polio

The Rotary Club of West Springfield, chartered on April 9, 1980, was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Springfield. It was first known as the Springfield Breakfast Rotary Club and met at the Springfield Howard Johnson. Meetings were moved to the Hunter Motel in 1982 and then to the Springfield Golf and Country Club in 1984. In 1996 the name was changed to The Rotary Club of West Springfield. Four charter members, Kelly Perdue, Doug Alcorn, Roger Applegate and Bob Hamlin are still actively involved. Early on, at each meeting, Kelly took a carnation from the table and presented it to a member or guest he felt had distinguished themselves. Today, Kelly still presents a carnation every week, but this has now evolved to a long-lasting carnation pin, hence the carnation on our logo.

Three major fund raisers are held each year. Our Reverse Raffle takes place during the winter, the Golf Tournament in the summer/fall, and the Bowl-A-Thon in the fall. Proceeds from the recent Bowl-A-Thon purchased three Shelter Boxes and a contribution of $1,000 to pancreatic cancer research in honor of one of our Past Presidents who is currently fighting the disease. Proceeds from the other fund raisers provide student scholarships and outstanding teacher awards, purchase of equipment for Camelot Center for hearing impaired children, supply dictionaries to third graders in our schools as part of the Dictionary Project and provide funds to assist the Friends of Barnabas medical/dental mission to Honduras. We have just started teaming with the Rotaract Club of Christopher Newport University for their international service project, a literacy project in Costa Rica.

Locally, some of our hands-on community service project include: the reading program for hearing impaired children at Camelot Center, Mission of Mercy dental program which provides dental care for the financially disadvantaged, sponsoring an INOVA Blood Drive every other month, highway cleanup quarterly, assisting with Special Olympics, and Salvation Army Bell Ringing. A special project is Kristi's Christmas All Year Round established by Bill and Karen Brown who lost their daughter when her car was hit head on. To honor her for her involvement with needy children, each year approximately 50 children are selected from local elementary schools. They are provided with a wonderful breakfast, then taken to Target to shop for clothing for themselves with help from a high school "buddy." They also have a visit with Santa and leave with a large bag full of school supplies, personal hygiene items, a sleeping bag and a cuddly stuffed animal. It is a wonderful day for all involved.

The Rotary Club of West Springfield meets at the Springfield Golf and Country Club every Wednesday at 7:30 A.M.

Please call me at 703-690-6569 if you would like more information about our service activities and possible interest in joining with us to serve our community.