ROCHELLE — Michelle Pease (president) and Lance Charnock (president-elect) currently serve in leadership positions of the Rochelle Rotary Club. 

The club’s 2023-2024 officers also include Immediate Past President Adam Heal, Secretary Sarah Flanagan, Treasurer Chuck Watkins, and Member at Large Greg Folmar. Committee chairs are Jeni Hardin (public relations), Josh Carney (service), Emily Anaya (foundation) and Jeff Fiegenschuh (club administration).

Leadership positions within Rotary take effect July 1 each year. That is when Pease will swear in Charnock as president. The City of Rochelle community development director said she’s enjoyed her time in the office so far. 

“I have been with Rotary since I started with the city about 11 years ago,” Pease said. “Being president now is just about taking a turn representing the local club and volunteering my time. The mission for Rotary is pretty close to what I believe in: Being able to give back to the community. It was just a nice way to be able to take a turn at the presidency and learn a little bit and give a little bit more back and learn more from the leadership role.”

Rotary’s yearly work includes helping From the Heart with its cash calendars and gala to raise money for area nonprofits, volunteering and fundraising in the community, and donating its monthly collections to various nonprofits. The club recently hosted a fundraiser for the Community Action Network with a night out at Salt 251 and raised over $3,000 for the CAN Christmas Shopping Trip. 

Pease said that after stepping into the role of president, she got a true appreciation for how much goes into the club with meetings, its international components, and philanthropy. She said that on top of all that, the club is a “great” networking opportunity.

“We have people from all kinds of businesses in the community and connecting with them can help you professionally and personally,” Pease said. “It's a nice way to connect with different businesses, entities, and nonprofits. That's been huge for me. And it helps with my job. People ask about things going on with businesses or buildings or something that the city is doing. People being able to connect with me as a city employee is really important. That's why I'm here and that's why I have a job. To connect with my community. This position has allowed me to be very approachable. People have questions and I'm here every Tuesday. It's been good for myself and my job with the city.”

Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, Charnock was looking for a way to channel some goodwill and find a place to volunteer and donate his time back to the community he grew up in. He called serving on the Rotary board “a great experience” and said his time with the club has filled the void he felt in recent years. He’s looking forward to leading the club as president. 

“I think it's important for people to get involved in their community,” Charnock said. “You get what you give. Somebody taking an hour or two out of their week to volunteer for a good cause, whether it's at a nonprofit or doing something like cleaning up the community, I think channeling that good energy will bring it back to you tenfold. I encourage anybody that has that extra time to volunteer and do what they can to help the community.”

The Rochelle Rotary Club is seeking members and those interested can message the club on Facebook or attend one of its meetings, which take place each Tuesday at noon at Salt 251 in the ballroom. Meetings include lunch, a program, club updates and fellowship with members. 

Pease said the club met via Zoom during the pandemic, which brought difficulties for those meetings and getting attendance and new members when in-person meetings started up again. She and Charnock said they’re hoping to see new members join to provide ideas on fundraising or to volunteer, even if it’s a business or nonprofit joining as a member and sending a different employee each week. 

“Our numbers seemed like they dwindled down, but people are starting to come back now,” Pease said. “I would love to be able to have a larger group and just connect more people together. We're always welcoming anybody who wants to be a part of it. Even if they just want to come and have lunch and see what it's about, we would welcome that. We're a pretty welcoming group. We have fun. If you want to have a free lunch, have some fun, and network with people, Rotary is the place.”