Anyone interested in joining the Oglethorpe Rotary Club should attend the meetings at 7:30 a.m. on the second and fourth Friday of each month at the Farm Bureau to start the membership process. All meetings are open to the public.
Jennifer Yauck
For Crawford resident Jennifer Yauck, the Rotary Club is more than just a service opportunity — it’s a familial legacy.
Yauck, a teacher at Oglethorpe County High School, joined Rotary about four years ago. Her father, Guy Lance, was a founding member of the Oglethorpe Rotary in 1992.
“I just really appreciated all the work that they have done for our community over the years, and decided to be a part of that,” Yauck said.
She recently was selected as president of the club for the next year.
One of Yauck’s top priorities as president is to encourage membership enrollment. The club has 21 active members.
“I am looking forward to growth,” OCHS teacher and Rotary Club member Sara Hughes said. “I think with the plans we have in place now, we really have a sustainable way to grow the club and promote it to the public.”
Hughes, who has served as the youth services chair for the club, said that Yauck’s organizational strategies have provided a guideline that incorporates the club’s donations, scholarships, activities, outreach and promotions.
“She’s brought a lot of great momentum to get all of those ideas captured in a strategic way,” Hughes said.
Yauck has several projects in motion that aim to benefit the community. The club, which will be at Community Day on Saturday, Aug. 8, recently received a district grant that will be used to renovate the Oglethorpe County Senior Center’s greenhouse.
“We do a lot of things for the schools, a lot of things for the senior center and various other organizations that we support,” Yauck said. “We really just want to make ourselves very visible in the community.”
The club will have a family connections agency presentation. There are also plans to host a social next month for people who are interested in joining.
“Historically, people have always thought, maybe, Rotary Club was limited to people who owned businesses or who represented companies within the community,” Yauck said. “We want to get the word out that that’s not really what Rotary Club is today.”