Who We Are
Rotary is where neighbors, friends, and problem-solvers share ideas, join leaders, and take action to create lasting change.
The Rotary Club of Boca Raton consists of 80+ community-minded business leaders from the greater Boca Raton area. Our members focus on making our community a better place to live, work, and play by inspiring and uplifting today’s youth to become tomorrow’s leaders by sharing our virtues and values. Some of our community service projects include: Providing college scholarships for high school seniors, fostering the performing arts in today’s youth, promoting STEM & robotics to middle and high school students, providing dictionaries for Boca Raton’s 3rd graders, assisting local foster children and educating families in need. Rotary’s motto is “Service above Self” and our club members live by that every day to “Change Lives and Build Futures.”
Our club was founded in 1957 by a group of local business professional that wanted to give back to the local community. The Rotary Club of Boca Raton is one of over 35,000 rotary clubs comprising over 1.2 million members around the world. Rotary is a non-political, non-religious organization who mission is to provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through our fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders. Rotary’s main areas of focus are:
- Promote peace
- Fight disease
- Provide clean water, sanitation, and hygiene
- Save mothers and children
- Support education
- Grow local economies
We meet every Wednesday at 12:00PM for lunch at The Pavilion Grille in Boca Raton. Our lunches provide a chance for our members to network with other “Service above Self” minded individuals, learn from a variety of outside guest speakers, and work together on planning community service projects. Additional our club has a lot of activities outside of our weekly lunch from community service projects to casual social events. We also host three major events a year including OPAL, Future Stars, and The Pirate Invasion Run. Rotary is more than a service club, it’s a group of your 80 closest friends who are focused on making the world a better place by helping others and living life by the Four Way Test.
Signature Events
OPAL Awards
The Outstanding People And Leaders Awards recognizes citizens in Boca Raton who have demonstrated an on-going commitment to serve their neighbors and our City through Philanthropic, Professional Leadership (Business), Education, Governmental(Civic), Community Service and Medical Service Endeavors. Every January, over 350+ members from our community come together to honor the recipients and raise money for the missions and projects of The Rotary Club of Boca Raton including youth college scholarships.
This one of a kind of event has been recognized by Rotary International receiving a Significant Achievement Award of which only a select few are given out to the over 35,000 Rotary Clubs around the world. Every year the event is a sellout so we recommend purchasing your tickets early to celebrate the people that make Boca Raton one of the best places to live, work, play.
Future Stars
For over 17 years Future Stars has been one of South Florida’s most prestigious middle and high school performing arts competition. In partnership with the City of Boca Raton, the dance and vocal show is hosted live at Mizner Park Amphitheater to over 1000+ people produced by a professional light and sound crew on the same stage some of the nation’s top talent performs. Every year students from across South Florida audition to make the less than 30 finalist acts for the show that will be judged by some of the region’s top talent. Many of our past performers have moved on to the country’s top educational institutions including Juilliard, NYU Tish, and Northwestern and several have become household names in their professional career.
Auditions are open to all middle and high school performing arts students in the South Florida area to compete in our vocal and dance categories. Of the over 100 plus applications we receive every year only the top 25-30 acts make it to become a Future Stars Finalist. We are excited to see this year’s top talent!
Pirate 5K/10K
For over 20 years The Rotary Club of Boca Raton has been helping put on a community Run. Over the years Rotary has partnered with D.A.R.E., the YMCA, XXXX, and many others to promote healthy outdoor fun. This year we have a very special run planned in partnership with the Florence Fuller Child Development Center. Arrrrrrrgh you ready for it?
Grab ye matey, and your favorite parrot, and come run for goodwill and better friendships benefiting the kids of Florence Fuller at our Pirate Invasion Run. Hosted on the world famous A1A Blvd, you will be running along the beaches that centuries ago the real “Pirates of the Caribbean” set foot on. We want to see you best pirate attire and your fastest run times. It’s a friendly family event with special costume contest, live entertainment, breakfast, bounce houses, a special kids run. This professionally timed race by Runner’s Edge is just not for “yar fun luvin running matey” its a beautiful course for professional runners too. Well if be it they like to be chased by pirates! Arrrgh…
Community Projects
Latest Happenings
Layren Calvo, Adopt-a-Family on Preventing Homelessness
We were delighted to have Layren Calvo be our gest speaker today, Born in Cuba, Layren Calvo emigrated to the United States at age 14. After graduating Magna Cum Laude from Florida Atlantic [...]
Lincoln Mendez, CEO, Boca Regional Hospital on Major Renovation
We were pleased to welcome and have Lincoln S. Mendez, CEO of Boca Raton Regional Hospital as our guest speaker. Mr. Mendez has been in this position since July 2019. Prior to [...]
Ed Raine, Food for the Poor
We were delighted to have Ed Raine, President & CEO of Food for the Poor, as our guest speaker. One of the most important things they do as a large, multi-national organization [...]
Aaron Millman, Esq., CPA on Elder Care Law
We were delighted to have Aaron Millman, Esq., CPA as our guest speaker. Aaron is the founder of Millman Law Group, PLLC. After many years of practicing with large estate and elder care [...]
Sandy Burkhart and Lisa Talley, Rotary Youth & Peace in Action (YPA)
The Club was pleased to have Sandy L Burkart PT, OCS, PhD as our guest speaker along with our own Lisa Talley. Sandy is a retired West Virginia University Professor and Chairman [...]
Constance Scott – Update on FAU, a Fabulous University Right Here in Boca Raton
We were delighted to have Constance Scott, Director of Local Relations at FAU, as our guest speaker this week. She joined FAU in April 2015. Constance was elected in March of 2009 and served [...]
Sara Murillo, PBSC Student Working on Education Policy
We were delighted to have PBSC student Sara Murillo as a guest speaker. Sara is a first-generation student to go to college in her family. She came from Colombia to the US [...]
Ryan Oliver Haines – Customs Marine Border Patrol Agent
Ryan Oliver Haines is a native of Lighthouse Point. He went to Boca High and graduated in 1996. He worked for Midnight Express high-performance powerboats from 1999-2006 and then for Intrepid Powerboats [...]
Tessie O’Dea – Youth vs. Hunger by Cross Catholic Outreach
We were delighted to have Tessie O’Dea, Relationship Development Manager for the Church, School and Community Department of Cross Catholic Outreach, as our speaker this week. She [...]
23rd Annual (OPAL) Outstanding People and Leaders Virtual Event
23th Annual (OPAL) Outstanding People and Leaders Virtual Event – Changing Lives & Building Futures – Raised Over $170,000 for College Scholarships and Trades Certificate Programs February 21, 2021 The 23rd Annual [...]
Ricardo Boehm – Helping Indigenous Students Get Educated in a Remote Area of Guatemala
The Club had Ricardo Boehm as the guest speaker for the Nov. 25 meeting. He is a member of the Palm Beach Rotary Club and has focused a lot of this personal [...]
Patricia Cimino – “Forget the How: Take the Next Step that Feels Best”
We were delighted to have Patricia Cimino as a guest speaker. Patricia Cimino is a Certified Coach specializing in empowerment. Whether she is speaking to a group [...]
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