The Sammamish Rotary Club Depends on Friends

The Sammamish Rotary Club has a long history of community service efforts on the plateau, from fundraising events like the hugely popular Nightmare at Beaver Lake to food drives like the Rotary First Harvest.

The Rotary Club wouldn’t be able to do any of their many projects without serious manpower, though, so several years ago the club set out to bolster its ranks through an effort called the “Friends of Sammamish Rotary.”

Rotary members knew there were a lot of people on the plateau who would want to help out with community service projects but didn’t necessarily have the time or resources to become full-fledged Rotarians. The Friends of Sammamish Rotary was created as an avenue for such people.

“They basically have the benefits of being a Rotarian without the time commitments or the financial commitments,” said Dellann Elliott of the Sammamish Rotary Club. Elliott played an instrumental role in helping create the auxiliary club.

The Friends of the Sammamish Rotary Club provides the extra help the club needs for big projects like the Nightmare at Beaver Lake or small tasks like helping with public relations or taking pictures at events. In return, the auxiliary members get to develop relationships with Rotarians and become more active members of the community.

Sammamish’s Marisa Ormando, a realtor by trade, wanted to get involved with the community several years ago after seeing an ad for the Nightmare at Beaver Lake. She reached out to the club and has been helping out ever since.

“I wanted to be able to give back to the community,” Ormando said.

Ormando was particularly interested to help people in her own community and draws satisfaction from helping her neighbors.

“People right here need things,” Ormando said.

Ormando describes the Sammamish Rotary Club as a great group of people and says the whole experience has been very rewarding for her.

The help they get from residents like Ormando is greatly appreciated by the Sammamish Rotary Club.

“We just love them,” said Sammamish Rotarian Cary Young. Young was also instrumental in the auxiliary group’s creation.

Elliott says that much of what the Sammamish Rotary Club is able to do wouldn’t be possible without their group of friends.

“They’re so vital to us,” Elliott said.

The Sammamish Rotary Club is currently looking for “friends” who can help out in the following areas:

• Historian/Archivist
• CPA/Accountant
• Nightmare at Beaver Lake project manager
• Social media experts
• Photographers
• Public relations/marketing