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ROTARY, Continued from page 3 Looking beyond September, the
future of Wayne Rotary is bright.
with a book plate and is then put Bevard is hopeful that the club
into circulation at the library. We’ve will see a boost in membership in
been doing this since 2002.” the years to come, and VanStipdonk
To date, the Wayne Public Library is similarly optimistic.
has benefitted from the addition of Says VanStipdonk, “What has
over 900 books—just from this activ- happened is that in the past, mem-
ity alone. Additionally, Wayne Rotary bers were primarily professional
makes a sizable donation to the people, now we’ve had a nice influx
Wayne Public Library’s literacy pro- of civic-minded people as well—and
grams each year. more women.” Adds Bevard, “The
And Wayne Rotary’s mission to best thing about Rotary is giving
create bookworms of us all doesn’t Wayne Rotary Club group photo from the 1940’s. back to the community and trying to
end there. act of giving is in keeping with Ro- community as a whole looks forward help others through the efforts of the
Another Wayne Rotarian, the late tary’s motto of “Service above self” to, and it’s the highlight of the sum- Rotary. And it makes people feel
Nate Weiser, who served as the pres- and emphasizes Rotary’s presence in mer for many people,” says Rhaesa, good inside–and I know that when
ident of the Wayne Rotary in 1963, the Wayne community. who has been a Wayne Rotarian for you help others, it helps you, too.”
was also a staunch supporter of lit- “We wanted people to visibly see over 10 years. “We try to gradually This profile of the Wayne Rotary
eracy. us doing things so they would know raise the level of it each year and try is dedicated to the memory of
“At the age of 88, he approached we are here,” says Bevard, a resident to provide a quality show for the res- David Allan Carpenter, Sr. Carpen-
the Wayne Rotary board of directors of Wayne since 1978. idents.” ter, a husband, father, and longtime
about an effort he saw in Sacra- And, boy, have Rotary been busy. Additionally, Wayne Rotary has Wayne Rotarian, recently passed
mento, California, in which third Wayne Rotary’s commemorative another musical event coming down away at the age of 73. Carpenter’s
graders were given hardbound events thus far include sponsoring a the pike: On Saturday, September many contributions include having
copies of dictionaries by their local “Boredom Busters” program at the 24, the club will host a fundraiser en- served all the club offices in Wayne
Rotary Club,” recalls VanStipdonk, Wayne Public Library in March, titled “Dueling Pianos” at Wayne Rotary before moving on to serve
80. “And Nate thought we should be which provided approximately 100 HYPE. (Those interested in attending District 6400 as both assistant gov-
doing the same thing.” local elementary-aged kids with cool are encouraged to search “Wayne ernor and district governor. His un-
One thing led to another, and books and activity kits, partnering Michigan Rotary” on Facebook for yielding commitment to the Wayne
Wayne Rotary eventually partnered with Wayne Ripple Effect to conduct more information.) Rotary will not be forgotten.
with the club in Sacramento. The a city-wide cleanup—the seventh an-
Wayne Rotary’s third grade diction- nual, in fact—in April (in coordina-
ary program is a tradition that is still tion with Earth Day), and hosting a
in effect today. “Free Ice Cream Cone Day” at the
“Before COVID, we would go into Wayne Dairy Queen in May. And for
the classroom, tell the kids about the club’s June project, Wayne Rotar-
why they’re getting a dictionary, who ians, painted Veterans Haven.
we are as Rotarians, and give them a As for this month’s activity?
dictionary for them to use as their It rocks—literally.
own personal copy,” says VanStip- After a two-year hiatus, the City
donk, who, with his wife Lois, has of Wayne’s annual Concerts in Goudy
three adult sons and eight grandchil- Park series returns to downtown
dren. “So, you can see the thread of Wayne’s Goudy Park Amphitheater.
our focus over the last 20 years re- The free series, which is held every
ally has been toward literacy.” Wednesday in August at 7:30 p.m.,
But that’s far from the extent of boasts a wide variety of popular
Wayne Rotary’s philanthropy. And bands, including Live Bullet Detroit,
with this being a centennial year, the Mainstreet Soul, and 50 Amp Fuse,
club’s 34 members have really to name a few.
kicked it up a notch. And should you attend and take
Wayne Rotary President Carol Be- in a performance or two, you’ll have
vard, 67, has been spearheading a an opportunity to support Wayne Ro-
bevy of Rotary-led efforts here in the tary in the process. While the bands
City of Wayne—one event each are paid for entirely through spon-
month, to be exact—in celebration of sorships (and not tax dollars), the
Rotary’s 100th anniversary. Some ac- purchase of beer supports the Wayne
tivities are aimed at beautifying the Rotary.
city, others at improving the quality This summer’s concert series
of life for residents, but all have been marks the thirteenth for the City of
infused with a healthy dose of fun Wayne, but Wayne Mayor John
and teamwork. Rhaesa remembers when the annual
Bevard, who served in the U.S. event was just getting off the ground.
Navy and was the first female load- He’s quite proud of the series’
master in squadron VR-21 in Bar- growth.
ber’s Point, Hawaii, says that each “It's something that I think the
4 · August 2022 · The Wayne Dispatch