Why I Joined Rotary by Gwen McMillan
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I was first introduced to Rotary through my
brother-in-law in the early 80’s.
At that time he was very involved with the youth
exchange program. Although I felt the
exchange program was an excellent program, I was not very supportive of the male only designation of his choice of
service club. Rotary advanced to open
their membership to women in the late 80’s; however, I was still not sure the male dominated club would be my choice.
To everything there is a season, and as soon
as it was known that I had resigned from the Kinette Club, I was invited to
join the local Rotary club. The
invitation was one of those where I felt I could not refuse. That is how I became the only woman member of
the Rotary Club of Watrous.
The men in the club were very welcoming and supportive
of my involvement in the club. Not only
did I meet the requirements for women but I also dropped the average age of the
club! The club had been established for
over 60 years and had an excellent record of support. Local business owners contributed greatly to
needed services in the community and internationally.
When we moved to Lethbridge, I was invited by Bruce
Anderson to check out the Sunrise Club.
I found the Sunrise Club’s service goals and fellowship started my
Thursday morning with a good feeling and a laugh – which is still the case
after six years membership in Lethbridge Sunrise!