President’s Message
Jeremy Longshore, Club President
Welcome to the Rotary Club of Salem, Virginia! We are a club that “Creates Hope in the World”, called to serve others, both in our community and world-wide. Originally chartered in 1949. This year we celebrate our 75th anniversary of making a difference in the lives of others both locally and internationally! We truly live up to the Rotary motto, “Service Above Self”!
This year is a special year for me to be leading our club. We have grown our club to 140 members strong through Rotary’s “Each One Bring One” initiative. I plan to work hard to spread the message and mission of Rotary throughout our valley in hopes of continuing to attract people who wish to serve their community and the world. We will strengthen our fundraising efforts by growing Olde Salem Days, hosting Star-B-Q and the Old Dominion Athletic Basketball Tournament. These provide needed funding for our projects which include the “Sleep in Heavenly Peace” bed build, Christmas for Kids, and maintaining our Little Free Libraries around Salem. We will also continue to make significant financial contributions to many civic and community service organizations throughout the Roanoke Valley, Food and Winter Coats drives for those less fortunate, and care for our environment by participating in the Clean Valley Day – Roanoke River cleanup.
Our Club recognizes those who exemplify the values and ethics espoused by Rotary International through our Outstanding Citizen Award and by Scholarship Grants. We shoot for new opportunities to host an international student from this year through the Rotary Youth Exchange Program. We also look for local students that might have a chance to connect globally on an international youth exchange going outbound as well! We would love to hear any interests from the community.
This year’s Rotary theme is “Create Hope in the World”. Our Rotary International President Gordon R. McInally states, “The goal is to restore hope- to help the world heal from destructive conflicts, and in-turn, to help us achieve lasting change for ourselves.” The members of our club are already making a difference while enjoying fun and fellowship at the same time. I invite you to come have lunch with us or join us in a service project to see what we are all about. If you’d like to learn more, use our website, or follow us on Facebook. Please feel free to Contact Us!
New Members
October 2020 – Dr. Timothy C. Carpenter, Assistant Professor, Business Administration & Economics, Roanoke College was inducted as a new club member today by Membership Committee Chairman Ray Byrd. He was introduced by Steve Baker of Center for Leadership & Entrepreneurial Innovation of Roanoke College. Dr. Carpenter will be working with the Rotaract students at the college. L-R Photo: Dr. Timothy Carpenter (New Member), Ray Byrd, Steve Baker
