Airdrie residents who’d like to give back to the community with the Rotary Club of Airdrie but can’t commit to mid-week afternoon meetings may be in luck – the club is exploring the possibility of adding a Thursday evening meeting as a second option for members. According to president Cole Porter, the club currently meets Tuesday afternoons, a time that may not be convenient for all members. “It’s sometimes a little harder with people’s schedules, especially if they work in Calgary and have to commute back and forth,” she said. “We’d like to start a second club, because the city of Airdrie is big enough now that we can start a second club and start contributing even more.” The Thursday night club will be geared towards people who want to fund raise and support community groups, but may not have a lot of time, Porter said. The second club will begin by helping the original club with its major events while carrying out smaller projects in its first year, according to Porter, before building up to more ambitious fundraising in its second year. Initially, she added, the Thursday evening club will meet twice a month instead of weekly. Cory Tretiak, a current Airdrie Rotary club member, said members will have the option to attend either meeting. “We’re like a big family,” he said. “In addition to the two clubs in Airdrie, you can meet your membership requirements by visiting any Rotary Club in the world. We’re hoping to work very closely between the two clubs so they’ll kind of be extensions of one another, but each club will choose its own direction.” In addition to offering a second option for current members, Porter said she hopes the new offering will attract new members. Twenty members are needed to start up the new Thursday club. According to Tretiak, Airdrie Rotary contributes fundraising to various local organizations including the Airdrie Food Bank, Airdrie Public Library, Community Links and Meals on Wheels. Since the club was chartered in 1983, he said, it has given more than one million dollars to community groups. “Rotary is really an organization where you can bring your own passions and find support for them or, if you just want to get involved and don’t necessarily know where to start, you can come and join someone else’s,” Tretiak said. “That’s one of the big features of Rotary that differentiates us from a cause-specific organization. We work on everything, basically.” Planning for the new club is still in an early stage, and Porter said meeting dates have not been decided yet. The Rotary Club of Airdrie will hold an information night Sept. 27, at 7 p.m. at Fitzsimmons Brewing Company, for people to learn more about the upcoming club – and more about Rotary in general.
