In 1975, Jack Kohl was one of approximately 20 people who saw a need for a service-based club in town and created the Rotary Club of Wilsonville. At the time, he said the club organized community projects like building ramps and porches for those with wheelchairs, taking care of the elderly and raising money for local events.

Half a century later, the service club has developed community programs ranging from summer concerts to giving incarcerated mothers at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility a chance to connect with their children. It also participates in international projects with other Rotary clubs, such as hosting dental clinics in Guatemala or raising money to give Polio vaccines to other countries.

In honor of the club’s 50-year anniversary, current and former members reflected on the club’s history, impactful projects and service to the local and national community.

“(The club) has been a big part of the service community here in Wilsonville. It’s done a tremendous amount of work, not only locally but internationally,” Kohl said. “And that’s all part of the pride of the club, and the people who have been involved.”

The club has grown in numbers and programs since its inception, but, to Kohl, the biggest and most positive change is allowing women to join. Rotary International began allowing women in clubs during the late 1980s and Kohl said the Wilsonville club followed soon after.

“Once women were admitted to Rotary, it was kind of a whole new dynamic. Really good programs, a lot of great ideas, things for different ways to manage the club,” Kohl said. “It was a wonderful addition.”

Laura LaJoie-Bishop, the club’s youth services director who joined in the mid 1990s, said she was one of a few women in the club at the time. But she said the Rotarians were kind and open hearted, and “it’s been a great experience.”

“We’re trying to be accepting of anyone, anywhere,” LaJoie-Bishop said, adding that the Rotary is a global community and members are able to build friendships with people from other countries and cultures.

LaJoie-Bishop said there is a misconception that the Rotary is meant for “older white dudes,” and noted that the club is working to integrate both younger and older generations.

“We encourage people to get in while they’re young, because they do have a lot of energy and insight for what the next generation wants in terms of community service,” LaJoie-Bishop said. “Being able to share perspective and interest across generations is just so wonderful.”

‘What do you want to accomplish?’
Another change since the beginning is the development of two key annual events — the summer concerts in the park and the Heart of Gold event honoring exemplary volunteers with the First Citizen Award — in the 2000s. The ideas came up while Ben Altman, who served various leadership roles during his decade with the club, served as president in 2000 and challenged members to consider their aspirations.

“What I’d seen in the years before, just as a member, we seemed like we were just coasting. So I challenged everybody to say, ‘What is your focus? What do you want to accomplish?’” Altman said. “And then kind of realigned everybody to their interest.”

That meant brainstorming ways to increase funding, as it was also a time when the club “had very little money,” Altman said. This led to the development of Heart of Gold, an annual auction and dinner that is the club’s primary fundraiser, to serve the dual purpose of raising money and having a larger celebration for First Citizen. He estimates the club raised $28,000 in the first year.

“We went from a $4,000 debt to $28,000 in the bank,” Altman said of the first Heart of Gold event.

From there, Altman said the club’s vice president at the time came up with the idea of using some of the funds raised to give back to the community through summer concerts. Each year, the club hosts free concerts in the park throughout the summer that also raise money for End Polio Now, an effort by the Rotary International to eradicate polio globally. According to the website only two countries remain polio-endemic, specifically Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“The idea of summer concerts came up as a way to give back to the community for all their support for the club, but all that came from really challenging the group on what they wanted to accomplish,” Altman said.

When asked what projects they believe have been most impactful to the community, the current and past members gave answers ranging from serving community breakfasts to giving out scholarships and organizing youth exchange programs.

“We’re people of action … we’re people with a heart to serve and our members span age groups and economics,” said current president Mike Bishop, husband of Laura LaJoie-Bishop. He said serving as president during the club’s 50-year anniversary is humbling, noting the “solid leaders” that have come before him and it is a responsibility as well as an opportunity.

“We know that there are challenges with connection in our society. And we hope to continue to be a way for people to connect for good and continue to grow our membership,” Mike said.