District Governor visits Elkins Rotary Club
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Rotary District 7545 District Governor Julie Sawyer visited with the Rotary Club of Elkins during its end-of-summer picnic on the veranda at Graceland.
Sawyer, a resident of Preston County, earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Family and Consumer Science Education from West Virginia University in 1998 and her Master of Business Administration from Salem University in 2011. Sawyer's career included teaching middle school in Monongalia County and serving in various roles for Monongalia and Taylor County Schools before retiring in 2023.
After joining Rotary in 2018, Sawyer served her club as its Attendance Secretary, Executive Secretary and, most recently, Club President. She received her club's Rotarian of the year award, is a Mid-Atlantic Rotary Leadership Institute (MARLI) graduate, and has gone on to become a certified MARLI facilitator. She previously served District 7545 in a number of positions prior to becoming 2026-2027 District Governor. Sawyer has also served in a number of roles for Rotary Zone 33-34 that encompasses the majority of the east coast of the United States and the Caribbean.
Sawyer and her husband, Sean, are Rotary Major Donors Level II, as well as members of the Bequest Society Level IV, Paul Harris Society, and Polio Plus Society. In addition to her service to Rotary, Sawyer also supports the Marion County Disability Action Center.
It is customary for Rotary's district governors to visit all the clubs in the district to share their vision and goals for the Rotary year. "I have four goals for the coming year, and I think by joining together we can reach them," said Sawyer.
Sawyer's first goal revolves around supporting and strengthening the Rotary clubs in District 7545. "I think it is very important to be there for the members. I have initiated office hours twice a month on Zoom. Any member in the district can hope on, ask a question, tell a little bit about what's going on in the club, share some exciting news or if you have an issue or a problem, you can get some answers or some guidance," said Sawyer.
Additionally, Sawyer is focusing on growing Rotary membership in the district through meaningful engagement. Good examples of meaningful engagement include providing members the opportunity to benefit the community through their volunteerism while benefiting their own personal network or ensuring that the interactions between members are more than just casual acquaintance. "We have to make engagement exciting and little bit different to meet all of our needs. My needs, for what I need to get out of Rotary, might be different from, say Karen's. My needs are completely different than Sean's. We have to be able to reach every member of our club with that engagement. They need out of Rotary as much as they put into Rotary," commented Sawyer.
As an extension of her time as an educator, Sawyer's third goal is focusing on youth. "I enjoy going to Interact Clubs and Rotaract Clubs and I would love to see more clubs grow this year so that we can produce more leaders. We need more leaders in our communities," said Sawyer. Interact Clubs are service and leadership clubs for students between the ages of 12 and 18, with most being high school based while Rotaract Clubs are self-governing service organizations sponsored by a Rotary Club for young adults and professionals aged 18 and older, with most being college based.
Sawyer's final goal for this year mirrors Rotary International's goal of eradicating Polio. PolioPlus is Rotary International's signature program, launched in 1985, to eradicate polio worldwide. Since its inception, cases of polio have dropped 99.9% worldwide with wild poliovirus now endemic in only two countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Gates Foundation joined the efforts in 2000 and now matches every gift to PolioPlus 2 to 1.
"I know we're not going to eradicate polio in my year, but we are really close. We owe it to the children of this world for them not to have this debilitating disease. My goal is to be able to say that we are going to eradicate polio for 500,000 children, we are going to vaccinate those 500,000 children and it all starts with you. For every dollar you give, the Gates Foundation matches it 2 to 1. For every dollar you give, it ends up being three [dollars]. Those three dollars will vaccinate 5 children from never having to deal with the struggles of polio," said Sawyer. "What I'm asking is, this year for your birthday, think about giving yourself a gift and making a donation in your name to end polio now. A $50 gift from every member in the district will reach the $100,000 we need to be matched by the Gates Foundation to vaccinate 500,000 children."
After discussing the goals for Rotary District 7545, Sawyer turned attention to the Elkins Rotary Club, focusing on the work done in the Elkins community by the club. Among the projects highlighted were the grants to local schools and libraries which have exceeded $25,000 over the past two years, the construction of the Rotary Amphitheater in the Elkins Town Square and the contribution of the club to the Gold Star Families Memorial Monument that was constructed in the All-Veterans Park. "These are all awesome, awesome things that you do in your community," said Sawyer.
"I want to say thank you to every one of you for serving because it takes a village to do what we're doing in Rotary, and I appreciate every single person who is part of that village. So, thank you for your service and your time and your commitment to Rotary," concluded Sawyer.
Rotary is a global network of 1.2 million neighbors, friends, leaders and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change - across the globe, in their communities, and in themselves. Visit www.Rotary.org to learn more about Rotary International, visit the club's Facebook page - Rotary Club of Elkins – or contact 2026-2027 club president Karen Wilmoth at wilmothk@gmail.com for more information about the Rotary Club of Elkins.