CENTRE WELLINGTON – The wheel of a local service club will stop turning next year due to declining membership.
The Rotary Club of Centre Wellington will be closing its doors on Sunday June 30, 2024, the end of the rotary year. This has no impact on the Rotary Club of Fergus-Elora which will continue on as normal.
The club had been operating for 18 years but has seen declining membership, according to a press release.
“Nobody is sadder than we are,” said club president Ron MacKinnon in a phone interview. “I haven’t been with the club for 18 years but they’ve worked hard over that time trying to help build a stronger community, locally and internationally.”
He explained the club is down to just 10 members with two of those, including himself, live in the Waterloo Region which makes meetings a little more complicated.
MacKinnon doesn’t like blaming the pandemic on things but that said, he felt it has impacted the amount of time people are willing to devote to volunteering and has kept the club size rather small over the past few years.
This small size has made it difficult to carry out the club's work and therefore the group voted to close the chapter next year.
MacKinnon said this allows the groups they work with to plan for the future and to give out its last grants.
The Rotary Club of CW will continue its meetings Thursday mornings where members will continue to grant funds for local causes like Fergus Elora Special Needs Soccer, Big Brothers and Big Sisters and the Groves Hospital Foundation, and international efforts such as eradicating polio and sending aid to support those impacted by flood and famine.
In addition club members devoted their time to support fundraising and community events sponsored by Sensational Elora and volunteered time to support Canada Blood Services with the Centre Wellington Blood Donor Clinics.
MacKinnon stressed this isn’t the end of Rotary in the area as the Rotary Club of Fergus-Elora will still exist and those interested in being involved with Rotary can do so through their organization.
“I think the thing that you really will miss most is the camaraderie with your club members,” MacKinnon said. “Even if it was hard to get out of bed and get to the meeting, you’re glad you went because you’re sitting there with like-minded people. Not everybody agrees on everything but we all want to make the community a better place.”
