Blue Springs, MO, - Pat Starke joined the Blue Springs Rotary Club in 1984. His daughter, Blue Springs business owner Vanessa Starke McClaran, joined in 2013. This June, both were installed as President of their respective Rotary Clubs: Pat of the Rotary Club of Coronado, California, and Vanessa of the Rotary Club of Blue Springs.

 

Service to others is a guiding principle for both. The Blue Springs Rotary Club supports local non-profit organizations, such as Hope House, Community Services League, educational funds, and many others. Vanessa’s favorite project was building beds with a local non-profit that provides them to children in need. “The look on their faces when they climb into their brand-new beds is priceless.”

 

Pat is proud of all that his 270-member club can accomplish. “We support more than 60 community projects, from providing food for a local food bank, to putting up American flags on the city’s main avenue for national holidays, to supporting a program that provides prosthetics to those who have lost a limb,” said Pat.

 

Pat and Vanessa also support each other. Vanessa flew to California to run in the Low Tide Ride and Stride race that the Coronado Rotary created to fund programs serving soldiers and military families. Pat and his wife, Debbie, flew to Missouri to attend Vanessa’s installation as President. Rotary is family, too. “If I need something, I know someone in Rotary will steer me in the right
direction,” said Vanessa. Pat, who recently moved to Coronado, says, “the club embraced me as if I’ve here been forever. I’ve made lots of new “old” friends.”

 

What’s ahead for the year? In addition to running a meeting every week, they’re focused on strengthening their clubs. For Vanessa, it’s invigorating their current members and finding new ones. For Pat, it’s continuing to reach out to younger people to bring them into the Rotary family and to introduce them to service opportunities. For both, it’s a commitment live by Rotary’s motto by putting “Service Above Self.”

 

The Blue Springs Rotary Club meets weekly on Wednesday at noon at the Adam’s Pointe Golf Club. For more information, you can contact Vanessa at bluespringsrotary@gmail.com.