New Rotary president embraces change
Jul. 11—Thursday's meeting of the Cleburne Rotary Club brought a final farewell to Past President Paul Verwers and a warm welcome to incoming President Peter Kampfer.
To Verwers, Kampfer presented a plaque of appreciation for his service, a Paul Harris Fellowship certificate, a past presidential pin and other items honoring his time in office.
Kampfer once again thanked Verwers for steering the Rotary ship over the past year, a time which saw Rotary donations to the city of Cleburne among other outreach efforts, a move from the Cleburne Conference Center to Our Place Restaurant and other accomplishments.
Obviously touched by the recognitions, Verwers thanked fellow Rotarians for their support and assistance through the past year and joked that he plans to pen his presidential memoirs soon.
Kampfer, changing topics, talked of what's to come.
"I love the opportunity to talk about my favorite subject, me," Kampfer said.
Which turned out to be a joke. Turns out America, rather than himself, is Kampfer's favorite topic.
"When things are going well, when something's done right, I have a saying," Kampfer said. "Which is, 'Well done! That's American.'"
The Rotary Club, of which Kampfer has been a member since 1984, supplies an important thread to the fabric of American exceptionalism, Kampfer added.
"Can you imagine not having Rotary in your community?" Kampfer said.
A vibrant local Rotary Club, Kampfer reasoned, benefits a town much in the same was as d strong church, school and local government systems.
Certainly, Rotary has played a significant and positive role in his life, Kampfer said.
Although he's been a Rotarian for 39 years and several times served as president of other Rotary clubs, Kampfer said he came to Cleburne and joined the Cleburne Rotary Club in 2021 and quickly fell in love with both.
Even before that Rotary played a role through a scholarship to Texas Tech University, where he played football, through references during his time with the U.S. Marines and to job applications after.
Great though the Cleburne Rotary Club is, COVID-19 delivered a blow.
"The pandemic affected us all," Kampfer said. "It was a big deal. It was traumatic for business, which is what our country is built on. But also other groups including our civic clubs."
The Cleburne Rotary Club was hardly immune and, like other organizations, suffered a decline in membership. Which, Kampfer said, calls for change.
"You know what the only thing who likes change is?" Kampfer said. "A baby. They like their diapers changed. But after that, nobody likes change. But we need to work together. It's hard to pick up the pieces and determine how to go forward, but we need to talk about the relevance of Rotary and how bet to go forward."
New member recruitment will play a big part, Kampfer said, especially a focus on younger residents, both those already Rotarians and those suitable for recruitment.
Kampfer called for increased focus on outreach.
"One meeting a month at least we need to do something tangible toward improving Cleburne," Kampfer said. "Things community driven we can participate in together to make a difference."
Such involves celebrating the heritage of the Rotary Club since its beginning to looking forward," Kampfer said.
"The relevance being that, as a result of growing Rotary, we're going to grow the fine city of Cleburne," Kampfer said.
American pride
Cleburne Rotarians are a patriotic bunch who encourage fellow residents to follow suit. To those ends, the Cleburne Rotary Club, in partnership with local Boy Scouts, created Flags Across Cleburne, a visible, and fun, way to showcase American pride.
Participation in the program, which costs $50 per year, is open to Cleburne residential and business locations.
Rotarians and Boy Scouts install poles in the grass at subscribing locations then place, and later remove, U.S. flags during patriotic holidays.
Those holidays include:
—Memorial Day
—Flag Day
—Independence Day
—Labor Day, which includes flag placement from the first Monday in September through Sept. 11.
—Veterans Day
The yearly subscription fees support scholarship and community outreach projects carried out by Rotary and Boy Scouts.
For information, call 682-970-0535 or email flagsacrosscleburne@gmail.com.
