Rotary Club of Niwot welcomes new president

After a long year of weekly Zoom meetings and modified events, the Rotary Club of Niwot is back on more familiar footing in 2021, and newly elected president Kerrin Reichen is looking forward to a busy year of giving back to the community.

"Our motto is 'Service above Self,' and we want to get out and get our hands dirty, so to speak," she said. "There are so many things in the community we support, and the money we raise goes straight to them."

Reichen assumed the presidency as of July 1, and will serve until June 30, 2022. Joining her on the board are president-elect Mary Colwell, treasurer Jeff Martin, and secretary Clay Marsh. Reichen's predecessor, Thom Lynch, now moves to the club's foundation board, where he will advise on financial matters.

Reichen said that the RCN is looking forward to resuming more of its normal activities this year, most notably the weekly meetings at the Left Hand Grange on Thursday mornings. The group recently concluded its 2021 peach sale, the largest fundraiser of the year, and now members are getting ready for the annual coat drive. Proceeds from both benefit Colorado Friendship, an organization that provides food and clothing to low-income families in Boulder County. RCN is also planning an event at OUR Center, and hopes to have a community clean-up in Niwot sometime in the next few months, Reichen said.

Reichen credited Lynch with keeping RCN active through the tumultuous pandemic months, even though he never got a chance to preside over a meeting in person. Indeed, the RCN's membership actually grew in 2020, and now stands at 31. Seven are from another area club that disbanded, but Lynch said that interest in the RCN increased during the pandemic, as work and family commitments changed.

"We picked up seven seasoned Rotarians, and it helped the numbers grow, but that was before my term, in the spring of 2020. But several folks approached us about membership... One was new to the area, and I think she was hoping for business contacts, as well as a place to volunteer."

Lynch said that attendance at RCN's weekly meetings remained strong, even as the pandemic wore on and "Zoom burnout" increased. The group was also able to conduct a peach sale in 2020, with safety measures that continued into 2021. Unfortunately, the RCN's Tasting Trail app fundraiser and Christmas Party had to be canceled, but Lynch said both could resume later this year.

The RCN suffered its biggest blow of the year when founding member Eli Buzas died unexpectedly in January 2021 from COVID-19. Lynch spoke fondly of his late friend as he remembered how he surprised them all at the group's first virtual meeting in March 2020.

"When Eli came to meetings at the Grange, he was impeccably dressed. His shirts were ironed, his pants had creases and his shoes were shined. And on the first Zoom meeting, he shows up in a ball cap and a T-shirt that was a bit raggedy around the edges. We smile about that."

Lynch went on to award Buzas with the RCN's 2021 "Service Above Self" award, for his years of dedication to the club.

Just because his term expired, Lynch isn't planning to retire from the club. "It's a joke in the Rotary that the best job at Rotary is past president," he said. Like Reichen, he is looking forward to resuming a more normal slate of activities, and also welcomes the return of meetings at the Grange and the weekly speaker series. The group has also added an evening event to its monthly calendar that is meant to be more social in nature.

"I think that people miss the in-person fellowship more than they think," he said.

That said, RCN is exploring ways to combine the in-person and virtual meetings, to give both members and scheduled speakers more flexibility. Upcoming speakers include local musician Jack Hadley and the executive director of the Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center.

"Sometimes it's a hard sell to get somebody from Denver to drive up here at 7:15 on Thursday morning, so we still are able to get speakers from all over the world, theoretically," Lynch said. "And we do have two members that are remote...and we want to stay connected with them as well."

Both Lynch and Reichen invited anyone interested in the Rotary, its events, or its speakers to come enjoy a free breakfast at one of the Thursday morning meetings at the Left Hand Grange (195 2nd Ave., Niwot), or a social event on the last Thursday of the month. For more information, visit niwotrotary.org.