Recently, a long-standing goal of the Rotary Club of DeSoto came to fruition. That goal was to reactivate its community based Rotaract club that would attract and energize young professionals, expose them to the Rotary culture, and groom them to become productive Rotarians. . After many attempts and a few hurdles, the Rotaract Club of Best Southwest TX became an official community Rotaract Club on January 19, 2024.
Led by the DeSoto Rotary Club’s sponsor, Bishop Alex D. Byrd, a group of 9 individuals came together, initially as the Rotaract Club of DeSoto. However, their vision was larger than just DeSoto. It seemed that the city they lived in was less important than coming together to impact the world for good. So, they broadened their reach to include DeSoto, Lancaster, Duncanville, Cedar Hill, Midlothian, Waxahachie, Ennis and Seagoville, mimicking the Best Southwest Partnership.
Yet, the goal was preserved. It would maintain its purpose of training and developing productive Rotarians and would feed into the Rotary Clubs within the area. Already, the group has been active in the community. They’ve participated in a program to honor a DeSoto ISD faculty/staff member. They’ve held their first social networking event. This month, the Rotaractors provided bowlers for Rotary Club of DeSoto’s team at the Concerned DeSoto Citizen’s Bowling for Scholars tournament to raise funds for scholarship. To our surprise, we brought home the Gold with their help.
Efforts are being made to develop relationships with all of the Rotary Clubs in the Best Southwest. Their support is needed to make this project successful.