In a county where residents are encouraged to “buy Oglethorpe,” Rotary Club President Jeff Welch spawned an idea to do just that and expand his club’s reach.
“We have got to find a way to get our light out from under the bushels,” Welch said about the efforts of the Oglethorpe County Rotary Club.
Welch uncovered this light through a unique raffle program at Rotary events.
Attendees at the weekly Friday morning meetings can purchase a ticket for $1 for the chance to win a gift certificate to a local business.
Local businesses like Rowdy Rooster, Carrie’s Corner Store & Cafe, Oglethorpe Feed and Hardware Supply, Strickland Pride Produce, Town and Country Kafe and Small Town Nursery are all on the list of establishments that will have gift certificates raffled off.
Willie Torres, co-owner of Town and Country Kafe, was the first to be approached by Welch and the first business to have their gift certificate awarded.
“I think it’s a good idea,” Torres said. “It’ll be a better idea if it works.”
The efforts of Rotary are limited in Oglethorpe County due to the amount of people involved.
“We had all the movers and shakers 20 years ago, and they weren’t replaced,” Welch said of the club chartered in 1992.
The current president places the number of current active members at less than 10, although the group still spends approximately $13,000 each year on community service projects, scholarships and other endeavors.
For this new program, Welch admitted that if the same folks keep winning the raffle, the impact to the economy will be minimal. So, he’s encouraging each raffle winner to pass along the gift certificate to someone else in the community if they already frequent that business.
By passing it on, Oglethorpe businesses may gain new customers.
Mitchell McArthur, the newest addition to the club, having been inducted on Sept. 13, didn’t win the raffle for the Town and Country Kafe gift certificate, but it was passed along to him.
McArthur is the operations and maintenance manager for RWE Clean Energy, the solar plant company for Timberland Solar on Goose Pond Road. He joined Rotary in both a personal and professional capacity.
“I’ll be here for the next 30 years, so I’m trying to start making those connections and growing relationships here locally,” said McArthur, who also said he will soon move to Vesta.
Both Welch and McArthur hope the raffle program will encourage community members to join Rotary because the organization is open to anyone.
“There is no age for that. There is no right profession for that,” Welch said. “I would like to see every business person consider it.”