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RB Sunrise Rotarian are there to help people in need. Just ask Mike Miller.
President of RB Financial, Miller said he was tired of being nickel and dimed with fines for his birthday, wedding anniversary, etc. Club members wished him well and assumed he'd never attend another meeting.
Two weeks later the Witch Creek wildfire swept through town. Mike and Teresa Miller escaped from their burning house with 10 minutes notice, the garage aflame around them as they sped into the night. Word went around the Rotary club like...well, like wildfire.
And the following Saturday 40 Rotarians and spouses appeared at the Miller property with shovels, wheelbarrows, gloves, hats, masks and boots. Our objective: search for any surviving valuables. There was no discussion whether we'd help. The need was there...and we helped.
Lunchtime brought one of our members carrying a dozen pizzas, salad and sodas. Mike sat in the shade resting with three club members around him, watching in amazement as a table and checkered tablecloth were set before him.
Open-mouthed, he felt compelled to ask "Why are you all here?" The answer quickly came; "You were in trouble, Mike. We came because you were in trouble."
Mike couldn’t get his mind wrapped around this level of generosity. "But" he protested "I resigned from this organization two weeks ago!" The response came just as quickly; "Yeah...we didn’t accept your resignation."
Not another word was said on the subject and we spent several more hours helping before going on our way. One of our members joined Mike to help him take whatever had been recovered and put it into a rented storage space.
The following Tuesday nobody was terribly surprised when Mike returned to Rotary’s 7am meeting. He stood, crying, and announced "You will NEVER get rid of me; I’m in this organization for life!"
Mike has since left Rancho Bernardo Sunrise Rotary Club, but has retained his commitment to being a Rotarian in his new hometown in Arizona. Mike does visit RB Sunrise Rotary Club every time he travels to San Diego, however.
Anyone considering an organization proclaiming a philosophy of "Service Above Self" should know what we’re about before signing on the dotted line.
So rather than discussing the 1.25 million members in 34,000 clubs throughout 200 countries, you should know that Rotary is about being family. We’re there for each other, and we’re there for the community around us. We’re there to help those in need.
Yes, we’re there to network and make new friends. But if you’re thinking about joining just because you want to grow your business, save yourself the trouble.
However, if you’re interested in joining because you genuinely want to give back to the world around you, then the business will naturally follow. Rotarians are a special breed of people. We’ll mock each other one moment, and be there to support each other 10 seconds later.
We're friends though our politics may be diametrically opposed. We’ll rarely say "No" to another Rotarian, and go out of our way to help someone having a problem. All the stresses of the outside world–politics, religion, gender, race–all are left outside. In this room all that matters is making life better for everyone.
Come join us for a free breakfast and see for yourself how you can help make the world become a better place. We meet every Tuesday morning, 7-8:30am, Rancho Bernardo Country Club, 12280 Greens East Road, San Diego, CA.
Need more information? Contact Jim Dunny at jdunny1@me.com. What could be better than helping the community...and having fun while you’re doing it?