Sometimes the best speakers at the Gallatin Rotary Club are their own members.

Such was the case on Thursday, July 11, when the club held a regular weekly meeting which turned out to have a dual purpose: it was hosted by the Membership Committee in regards to our drive to get 100 members by our club’s 100th anniversary of existence in 2023.

We were fortunate to welcome 17 guests who could become future Rotarians, but it also served as a reminder to current club members as to why each of us continue in service to not only Gallatin, but to the world.

We held a panel discussion hosted by Jim Hawkins; the panelists describing the value of Rotary were Charles Moffatt, Bill Kemp, and Rebecca Stewart.

To expand a bit, Moffatt has been a member of the club since 1961 (58 years!) and had some excellent and insightful thoughts and experiences; Kemp, who has been a member since 1987, shared funny stories with us and said he enjoys Rotary to “be a small part of a big group that does great things.” Meanwhile, Rebecca, who proclaimed she has been a member for “one year and one month” really encapsulated the point of the program.

“One of the first things I did (with the Gallatin Club) was the (Sumner County Fair) concessions,” she said. “I was only a couple of weeks in (to being a member), and I thought I have to go after work and I have to hang out with these people that I don’t know.”

Stewart was happily surprised by the reception our members gave her.

“It just captured me,” she said. “Everybody hung out and cut up…it makes the room that feels big (at first) seem smaller.”

Later, she said, “I have three young kids. I didn’t think I can do anything outside of working hours. I thought that the commitment might be too much. But I find myself at all these after-hours events and Christmas for Kids.

“You just crave it,” Stewart said of being a member of the club. “You just enjoy helping other people that don’t have the means that you may have…and to serve people — this group gives me that.”

“It’s not just relationships, but it becomes friendships,” Stewart said. “You get as much out of it as you put in to it.”

To hear Moffatt’s and Kemp’s excellent knowledge and hilarious story-telling, as well as Rebecca’s wisdom, please click on the link below.

To see the full presentation on video, visit our Facebook page by clicking on the blue link below: