MEMBERSHIP: WHEN 1 + 1 = 8After asking for 10 years, Carbon Valley Rotary is excited to have inducted the Frederick Police Department and the Frederick-Firestone Fire Protection District as new members. Each organization's chief is the "main member" on record, and 3 other officers were identified to alternate attendance at weekly meetings. All 8 were given Rotary pins and badges during the induction ceremony, making them feel welcome members of the club. The idea came from the November 2018 Rotarian article on Cloning - and with input from club members, Carbon Valley Rotary intends to extend the offer to other organizations and businesses in the area.
The club has had corporate memberships for years, but none of them ever sent an "alternate" to attend meetings. Upon reading the "Cloning" article, Bev Mendel, Club President, brought the idea to the board, and then to all members of the club. The members decided to take each new organization's application on a case-by-case basis. Since both the Police and Fire departments had already finalized their 2019 budgets and had limited funds, the club waived the new member application fee, and deferred one-half of the club dues to year 2020. It was felt that both organizations offer so much in terms of community awareness, that waiving fees and paying for the extra badges and pins was well worth the return in value to the club.