Why I Joined Rotary by Don Lowe
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My first introduction to service work and service clubs was almost 30 years ago. It was 1984, Kerry & I were newly married and I was being promoted to Bank Manager and being transferred to Snow Lake, Manitoba. Snow Lake is a small mining town about 700 kilometers straight north of Winnipeg. My former boss had relocated numerous times and suggested I join a service club as a way to connect with other business people. I took his advice and wound up spending the next 14 years actively involved with Kinsmen.
My first introduction to Rotary was in the late 1990’s when I was invited as a guest to a Rotary Club of Winnipeg meeting. The Winnipeg Rotary Club was chartered in 1910 and was the first Rotary Club outside of the USA. My first impression was that many of those charter members still seemed to be in the club. Nonetheless, I left with a favourable impression and became more aware of Rotary’s profile and impact.
In 2003 my family and I relocated to Lethbridge and after settling in, it only seemed logical to get involved in the community, make new acquaintances and give back. Working for ATB Financial, I had already had an opportunity to be involved in the Dragon Boat Festival and had met some great Rotarians. I had several Rotarians encourage me to come out to a meeting and when the timing was right, I had had Bruce Anderson take me to a Sunrise meeting.
Bruce has since left the club, but continues to speak highly of Rotary and acts as coach and leader of the ATB Financial Dragon Boat team.