Walters takes over as Fallbrook Rotary Club president

The July 1 start of the Rotary International year was also the beginning of terms for chapter presidents, and the Fallbrook Rotary Club president for 2013-14 will be Bill Walters.

“It will be an exciting year,” Walters said.

The Fallbrook Rotary Club is bringing back its Lobster on the Green fundraiser, which was held for seven years in a row but did not take place in 2012. This year’s Lobster on the Green will take place September 14 at the Grand Tradition. “It will be a great affair,” Walters said.

The location is a change from the previous Ingold Fields site. The Grand Tradition is also where Fallbrook Rotary Club holds its Monday noontime weekly meetings. This year’s Lobster on the Green will be on a Saturday. “We did that to avoid Friday night football,” Walters said.

“The other thing we’re working on is growing our membership,” Walters said of the club’s 2013-14 goals.

The Fallbrook Rotary Club currently has 64 members. At one time the chapter had more than 100 members. “It has shrunk in size when people move or retire or pass away unfortunately,” Walters said. “We’re looking to get some younger members.”

Walters himself is retired but was a certified public accountant when he moved to Fallbrook from Huntington Beach seven years ago and when he joined the Fallbrook Rotary Club six years ago. The Fallbrook Rotary Club was his first experience as an member of Rotary International. Walters and his wife were at an activity, and he was invited by a friend to visit Fallbrook Rotary. “I went and really liked the group and what the Rotary goals were, so I joined,” he said.

Rotary International was founded in 1905 as a business networking group, but it is also a service club whose motto is “Service Above Self”. “It is 99 percent a service organization,” Walters said.

Rotary International assists both international and local charities. The local chapter’s major international effort involves upgrading a hospital in Uganda. Rotary International is also involved in the “Polio Plus” program to eradicate polio worldwide, and the August 15San Diego Padres game will honor Rotary’s Polio Plus efforts. On the local level the Fallbrook Rotary Club’s largest financial contribution has been approximately $100,000 for the teen room at Fallbrook’s new library, although several other local organizations have benefited from approximately $250,000 raised by the chapter.

Walters had previously served as the Fallbrook Rotary Club treasurer, and one of his predecessors as president asked if he would be interested in ascending to the chapter presidency. Walters agreed to take on the president’s role. “It’s a great group of guys and gals, and they’re easy to lead,” he said.