By Bob Groeneveld/91原创 Advance Times

.

Rotary is a bunch of old bankers and lawyers who go to stuffy meetings to hobnob, smoke cigars, and ostentatiously write cheques for charity鈥� right?

That stereotype is old and dusty, and it never applied in 91原创, where men and women representing a wide range of ages and professions join local Rotary clubs so they can roll up their sleeves to earn the millions of dollars they put into local, regional, and international charity work.

Rotarians from 91原创 clubs can be found with those sleeves rolled up everywhere, from the fieldhouse at the Derek Doubleday Arboretum to the annual Fraser Valley Wine Tasting Festival (yes, it鈥檚 coming back this year!) to last summer鈥檚 wildly popular 91原创 Ribfest (which is also coming back this summer) to shipments of medical and other supplies for less privileged parts of the world to health and water and education initiatives鈥� to literally hundreds of projects and events organized and staffed around the world by 91原创鈥檚 Rotarians.

And if that鈥檚 hardly what you鈥檇 expect from stuffy old lawyers and bankers, Rotary is reaching out even further in 91原创, drawing on more youthful enthusiasm through a new concept, called 鈥渟atellite鈥� clubs.

Satellite Rotary clubs are not entirely new to Rotary International, the parent body that represents a network of 1.2 million members of more than 35,000 clubs around the world.

But the Satellite Rotary Club of 91原创 Central Sunset is the first of its kind in Rotary District 5050, which comprises clubs throughout the Fraser Valley and the adjacent part of Washington State down to about Bellingham.

The 10 members of the new group are actually members of the Rotary Club of 91原创 Central, but the association is somewhat loose.

The satellite group doesn鈥檛 hold as many meetings as the regular club, and its focus is more on 鈥済etting out and doing things,鈥� explained Travis Strain, who is the chairman of the fledgling outfit.

Strain鈥檚 position highlights one of the differences 鈥� the satellite club oesn鈥檛 have a president like its more traditional parent, 91原创 Central.

鈥淲e function like a committee,鈥� said Strain. 鈥淲e have short meetings, just to discuss where we are.鈥�

Membership dues and fees are significantly lower, and both meetings and projects are geared to needs of younger members with families or others who might not fit into the traditional weekly lunch or dinner meeting structures of the established clubs.

鈥�91原创 Central has some great fundraising projects,鈥� noted Strain, who has been an active director of the parent club for several years, 鈥渂ut we [the satellite club] are more hands-on than fundraising.鈥�

The goal is to effect about two projects per month.

But there is an especially big project coming up in June, Strain said.

The satellite club is collecting bicycles, to donate them to families in need.

The bikes don鈥檛 have to be in perfect condition. Volunteers will fix them up with help from Mountain Co-op Equipment. Store manager Andrew Brumby is a member of the club.

Any that require more work than the volunteers can handle will go to Mike Kirk of Bikes for Humanity, who can arrange bigger repairs and subsequent placements in Africa.

They have about 30 bikes already.

鈥淭he hardest thing,鈥� said Strain, 鈥渋s to give them away 鈥� to identify the people who really need them.鈥�

But he pointed out that Rotarians, whether from traditional clubs or the new satellite, have always found ways to get a good job done.

Anyone interested in joining 鈥� or donating a bike 鈥� can contact Strain through the club鈥檚 Facebook page: or website

(Bob Groeneveld is a member of the Rotary Club of 91原创 Central)