Community helped Rotary succeed

Dear Editor:

As I reach the end of my term as president of the Rotary Club of Stanwood-Camano Island, I have many people to thank for making this one of the most memorable years of my life.

As a club, we have done several projects to benefit the people of our community, and we owe much of our success to the support of the people of Stanwood and Camano Island.

Just recently we had a very successful dinner/auction, in which we raised money to distribute winter coats to children. We have purchased dental equipment for our Kenya Dental Project, collected food and money for the food bank, distributed hundreds of books each month to children in our area, gave out Student of the Month awards to some amazing students and, just this past week, handed out thousands of dollars in scholarships to graduates of Stanwood High School.

But we couldn't have done these things without the help and support of this wonderful community.

Our recent auction is an example of the generosity that this community has shown. Even in tough economic times, we had nearly 160 guests, and everyone in attendance either donated goods and services, purchased items, or donated cash. At the end of the night, we raised enough money so we can continue our projects into the next year.

Another example is the unsolicited help we received during our Thanksgiving food drive last year. One of my employees, Hans Eskelsen, heard about our food drive and told the students of his seminary class at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and challenged his students to have a food drive of their own.

Two students, Taylor Niemen and Holly Townsend, coordinated the effort. Kailie Smith, a junior, went door to door in her neighborhood and collected the most individually, and her junior classmates collected the most as a group. Kailie commented that she was proud of what they did to help their community when local families are in need. I am proud of them, too.
Jim Jonson, President
Stanwood-Camano
Rotary Club