Have you ever considered how fortunate we are to live in this wonderful corner of Paradise? We at the Rotary Club of Saugatuck-Douglas have. Recently, we updated our strategic plan. Among other things, we looked at what makes our towns so special. We came up with a list that would bring a smile just to glance at it:

  • The ever-changing lakeshore with the kind of sunsets over bright clear waters that Californians pay a lot more for…
  • Our harbor, with sailing, boating, and visitors galore (with enough wealth to afford boats) swinging by our shops and restaurants and watering holes…
  • …like the Red Dock, a place to take visiting friends or relatives on their first trip here. Sit them down on the Red Dock with a beer and they “get it” instantly. Right?

There are a dozen iconic places and experiences on that list that make our towns “our town.” Creative, innovative places like Ox Bow, the SCA, the galleries, the shops, our schools. Beaches and peaches. Orchards, farms, and vineyards. The Coral Gables. The dunes and The Dunes. You get it.

We love our special places but it’s the people who seal the deal. A few amazing leaders are the “secret sauce” that make our towns go. Rotary will honor some of them by name over the coming months, but really, it’s everybody living here. What we most love about our towns is YOU!

We saw it again on July 4th–Rotary’s annual “Trifecta”—the Parade, Waterfront Festival, and Fireworks. We work hard to organize, itemize, and systematize those fun events for you–our fellow citizens. But oh-my-gosh how many of you help us pull it off! Volunteers from start to finish and generous sponsor-donors. We couldn’t do it without you. So, thank you, fellow citizens, for another rousing July 4th celebration.

Now, our planning forced us also to look at where the trouble is in our towns; the pain, the barriers, the dumb stuff that prevents some of our neighbors and their kids from reaching their full potential. We made a list of all that, too, and it wouldn’t make you smile. It might break your heart. But that’s a good thing, we believe, at least a little. There’s more room for others in a heart, broken open.

We’ve decided to step it up this year and try to fix some of that stuff. It’s going to require much more from Rotary than we’ve ever tackled before. We figure about five times more each year to do it right. In the meantime, here’s where you come in…

We want you to know that here in Saugatuck-Douglas, we’re not your grandfather’s Rotary Club. We will be as inclusive and diverse and fun and funky as the towns we love and serve. We will provide everyone with a meaningful, action-oriented, effective local network to make a difference. Our vision is that one day, fellow citizens, every one of you will know who we are, what we do, and how you can unite with us either as a Member or a Friend of Rotary. We see this community shining out as one place in America where people have stopped the political warfare and instead raised their sights towards the heartbreak all around us, and then united to take action to create positive lasting change for everyone.

If you’d like to learn more, please join us this Thursday, July 18 at 5:30 for a Friends of Rotary Happy Hour on the deck at Coral Gables, or email me at theloyaltycoach@gmail.com.

–Jim Sullivan, Rotary Club President