I want to share my heart felt appreciation for the opportunity to sit in the president's seat this year. This was quite an honor and a deep commitment and I could NOT have done it well without fellow members, committee chairs, board members- especially your president elect- Don Weakley and the rest of the Executive Committee (Nick, Paul and Jeff) Also, the movement and implementation of so much has been so wonderfully moved forward with our Executive Director, Jacqui Voland.
We were able to achieve quite a lot but we still have much to do with net growth of our membership and I look forward to continuing that movement! We are excited to move forward with significant Marketing activities, but we need everyone's help in extending the messages virtually and in person as much as possible.
We are standing up a Public Image committee and appreciate the many members that will be supporting!! If you are interested, please let myself or Jacqui know.
Otherwise, I look forward to spending another year on the board to support the future Nominations committee and our work of Retention, Realistic Recruitment and Reputation.
Warm Regards to all and look forward to connecting with you soon at our wonderful programs, social and service opportunities!!
Rotary Club of Salt Lake City Dates to Keep in Mind
March/April - Budget season - Final approval decisions made about committee funding and administrative budget by the board and committee funding requests forwarded to the Salt Lake City Rotary Foundation.
May 2 - District Endowment Fundraiser - Asher Hotel
May 5 - Scholarship Lunch - meet the 5 Rotary Club Scholarship recipients and celebrate the achievements of our Franklin Elementary students
May - Committee Reports for fiscal year 2025-26 activities due to club board and submission to Salt Lake City Rotary Foundation by June 1.
June - Club Business Meeting - Leadership Transfer, Budget Approval
June 27 - Interclub BBQ Social
July - New Board Leadership
Submit an inspirational quote or story for the next Rotary Bee email jvoland@slcrotary.org
Club Member Opportunities to Connect & Engage
March 28 – Once again, members have stepped up to continue our support of the Adoptive Native Elder Food Drive, preparing food boxes for delivery to reservations.
April 18 – Enjoy a night on the town with a pre-show dessert reception at the Utah Symphony as they present La Vida Loca: Latin Pop Hits. Many thanks to Leslie Peterson for making this special event possible. Sign up going out soon.
May 2, 2026 – Join us as we volunteer at the Great Strides Walk at Sugar House Park in support of Cystic Fibrosis, cheering on and supporting our fellow Rotarian and colleague, Laura Hadley. We’ve got the shirts and vests—what a great way to serve while promoting our club! A sign-up sheet will be coming soon.
We’re also working on a fun and brand-new opportunity for June. Did you know club member Mike Delzotti is a Certified Kansas City Barbeque Judge? Kristy and her team are planning a BBQ competition with other Rotary clubs—four clubs have already accepted the challenge! If you’re interested in helping plan or volunteer, please reach out to Kristy. More details to follow. Please take a minute to complete the brief participation survey to help us create a fun event for everyone.
If you have ideas for future social or service events,we’d love to hear them. Our goal is to increase engagement and get the Rotary Club of Salt Lake City back out into the community—living and sharing our message of Service Above Self.
Want to join the social or service committee? Reach out to Kristy Walker
Stories to Inspire: Sustainable Cambodia Student Videos
This month, we are proud to highlight the meaningful work of Sustainable Cambodia, an organization our club members Paul Stringham and Floyd Hatch are deeply involved in supporting.
In a recent report, Sustainable Cambodia shared encouraging updates along with powerful videos from students in Cambodia. Hearing directly from these young people is both moving and inspiring. Their voices remind us why this work matters — education, access to resources, and opportunity truly transform lives.
Our club is engaged in many incredible projects, each at different stages of development and impact. In the months ahead, we look forward to sharing more stories with you — not only from our International Committee efforts, but also from the local initiatives that strengthen the communities we serve. These include our Scholarship programs, Interact, Acts of Kindness, and many other service opportunities.
Each story reflects our collective impact. Together, we are making a difference — and together, we can accomplish even more.
Rotary District Shoe Campaign - District Wide Service Project 2026
Shoes for Orphan Souls
Be part of our first District Wide Service Project for 2026. We are teaming up with six other districts and Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls to provide much needed new shoes.
Salt Lake Rotarians, let's help this initiative by each purchasing a pair of shoes! Drop off will be arranged by Jacqui with the district. Want to participate, bring a new pair of shoes to a club meeting and we'll start collecting them all to hand off the district. Our goal 100 pairs of shoes. Can we beat that? - Club Count 20 pairs to date
The Buckner organization assumed leadership of the program in 1999. The largest humanitarian aid project of Buckner International, Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls, has continued to partner with organizations and individuals to collect and distribute new shoes to vulnerable children in the US and around the world.
Why Shoes You Ask
They help prevent health issues
Improves school attendance
Increases self-confidence
Why New Shoes
New shoes last longer and give children living in poverty something that is theirs.
So, here's the deal. The goal is to collect 25,000 pairs of shoes from the six Rotary Districts combined. Our district is committing to collect 2,000 pairs of shoes by April 1st. The shoes should be tennis shoes, any color. Sizes - elementary grade student sizes.
We are focusing on drop off points in northern and southern Utah. More information will be available as negotiations progress.
David Nelson, District 5420 Community Service Chair is urging each club to start planning your strategy to begin the process for purchasing new shoes as we plan our collection process.
Join us in Recognizing Members Birthdays & Membership Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
Spencer Deputy
June 1
Steve Boekholder
June 1
David Gessel
June 9
Tom Thatcher
June 9
Sydney Battersby
June 15
Brett Sutherland
June 16
Brent Larson
June 17
Merrill Watts
June 21
Ted Stagg
June 25
Join Date
Brent Larson
June 1, 1984
42 years
Gene Banks
June 1, 1990
36 years
Glen Lambert
June 1, 1993
33 years
John Eberhardt
June 1, 1976
50 years
Mark Holland
June 1, 1997
29 years
Mike Deputy
June 1, 1991
35 years
Jill Bennett
June 3, 2024
2 years
Mike Keller
June 7, 2005
21 years
Charlie McLeskey
June 25, 2020
6 years
Henry Wurts
June 26, 2007
19 years
Duane Millard
June 30, 1981
45 years
John Firmage
June 30, 1998
28 years
We are excited for the opportunity to get to know new members, Sydney Battersby, Angela Woodhead and Samuel Watson who are actively diving into committee work.
In the coming weeks we look forward to introducing you to new member, Jeremy Day sponsored by recent member Sabrina Morales. Have a new member recommendation? Send along the link to the new member application form or touch base with Taylor Bottom, Membership Chair or a member of the board.
Rotary Learning Center
Have you utilized the Learning Center at My Rotary? A rich resource for club member professional development, club program essentials, all about our foundations work and special interest group opportunities.
You need a MY Rotary account to be able to log in. Need help contact Jacqui or myrotary.org
