Rotary International President Ian Riseley Visits City

On a day proclaimed “Rotary Day in Long Beach” by Mayor Robert Garcia, Rotary International President Ian Riseley arrived on Wednesday, November 15, to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of the Rotary Club of Long Beach.

“This is a very special occasion for the members of our club,” said Rotary Club of Long Beach President Steve Keesal, “As you can imagine, a visit from a man who represents over 1.2 million Rotarians in over 35,000 clubs worldwide is a high honor.”  Keesal accompanied President Riseley throughout his whirlwind visit to Long Beach, along with Rotary District Governor Ian Hicks, Past District Governor Greg Owen, and Rotary Centennial Task Force Chair Cam Doherty Killingsworth.

Their first stop was a visit to City Hall where President Riseley was officially welcomed by Mayor and Rotarian Robert Garcia and other elected officials who are also Rotarians, City Attorney Charlie Parkin, City Auditor Laura Doud, and City Prosecutor Doug Haubert.  Mayor Garcia spoke of the many ways Long Beach benefits from community involvement of members of the Rotary Club of Long Beach – especially in the areas of Rotary’s focus -- literacy, youth, and education.

From the 14^th floor of City Hall, President Riseley viewed construction progress of the new Civic Center Library, where two children’s rooms – the Early Childhood Literacy Area & The Storytime Theater – are being donated by the Rotary Club of Long Beach as their Centennial gift to the community.

Riseley’s next stop was the Long Beach Day Nursery, site of the Rotary Club of Long Beach’s first and still ongoing service project. Just as it did in 1917 when the supportive relationship began, the Long Beach Day Nursery provides childcare for pre-school children of working parents. At the Day Nursery, President Riseley read a story to children who had been studying about his home country of Australia in preparation of his upcoming visit.  When later describing the children’s enthusiasm, President Riseley spoke of the joy of watching them hopping and jumping with him like kangaroos.

President Riseley viewed a demonstration of another Rotary Club of Long Beach Centennial Legacy gift, a curriculum created by Rotarians in partnership with the Long Beach Unified School District called Teaching Ethics to Kids, an ethics course based on Rotary’s 4-Way Test.

“It is thrilling, in this year of my Presidency, to see Rotary activities such as these in Long Beach happening all over the world, “said Riseley, “Rotary is making a difference every day.”

“Rotary Day in Long Beach” culminated in a Centennial Celebration Dinner at the Hyatt Regency Long Beach attended by over 300 guests, many from area Rotary Clubs that were sponsored by Long Beach Rotary.

Among messages in his keynote speech, Riseley spoke of the benefits of supporting community-engaged youth in the Rotary sponsored organizations of Rotaract (for young adults under 30) and Interact (a high school community service program.) “Young adults active in Rotary organizations inspire leadership by their energy, enthusiasm, and commitment,” he said.

In his concluding remarks, Steve Keesal reminded guests, “The Rotary Club of Long Beach begins its second hundred years now with a continued commitment to community service and making a difference … every day.”

The Rotary Club of Long Beach is the oldest service club in Long Beach, the largest Rotary Club in District 532, and among the top 50 in the world.  Chartered in 1917, the Rotary Club of Long Beach is comprised of approximately 300 Long Beach business and community leaders whose motto is “Service Above Self”.

For more information about the Rotary Club of Long Beach: www.rotarylongbeach.org