An Annual Letter to My Fellow Rotarians (2019)

I joined Rotary by becoming a member of the Rotary Club of Kent, WA in 2011. As someone new to the area and his profession, I was looking to grow my circle of friends, colleagues, and potential business partners. I was selfishly drawn to Rotary. What convinced me to stay was the selflessness of the club and the organization itself.

I was moved by their dedication to eradicating Polio, commitment to improving literacy, maternal/child health, peace, disease/prevention treatment, water and sanitation, as well as economic and community development. Through Rotary, I found a vehicle to make a direct impact on my community and beyond. For someone possessing a servant’s heart, I can’t think of a better avenue to fill my spirit.

As many of you know, I moved away from Kent and Seattle in 2017 to Los Angeles. Given my love and affection for all Rotary stands for, I knew I had to find a club in LA to join; somewhere I could make friends and get involved in my community. Through Facebook, I stumbled across the Downtown Los Angeles Rotary Club. Within months of my first visit, I was a member and then a new idea was born for me; hiking the Pacific Crest Trail.

Los Angeles was never meant to be permanent for Brandon and me. The idea was always to get what we needed from LA, get involved where we could, and then head back to…