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
Craft Talk – Lorraine Marks-Field on Classical Music
Pictured above are Club President Vancessa Havener with Member Lorraine Marks-Field, accomplished violinist and director of the Florida Intergenerational Orchestra. Pictured above are Club President Vanessa Havener with [...]
Visiting Rotarian from Kiev, Ukraine
Pictured above are Kateryna Teslenko, her mother Inna Teslenko and Club President Vanessa Havener. Kateryna just finished her MBA in International Business at Lynn University and her mother, [...]
Dr. Karin Scarpinato on Research at Florida Atlantic University (FAU)
Dr. Karin Scarpinato on Research at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Weekly Meeting January 22, 2020 Pictured above are Club President Vanessa Havener with Dr. Karin Scarpinato, Senior Associate [...]
Craft Talk with David Dweck, Special Recognition for Michael Gora and Special Gift by Pia Giannone
Craft Talk with David Dweck, Special Recognition for Michael Gora and Special Gift by Pia Giannone Weekly Meeting Jan. 15, 2020 Pictured above are member David Dweck and [...]
Two New Members – Rolando Bethart and Barbara Vega
The Club was pleased to induct both Rolando Bethart and Barbara Vega into the club. There was a request to not publish a photo of their joining. But, [...]
Youth in Government Day for Local High School Students
Pictured above is member Andrea O'Rourke who is on the City of Boca Raton City Council. The audience included students from Boca Raton and Spanish River High Schools. [...]
Paradise Bank Donates $5K to Support OPAL and Future Stars
Pictured above are member Kris Amorello of Paradise Bank with Club President Vanessa Havener. Kris provided the club with a donation from Paradise Bank for $5K to t [...]
Chanan Smith, “How to Protect Yourself from Intruders”
Chanan Smith, “How to Protect Yourself from Intruders” Weekly Meeting December 18th, 2019 Pictured above are Chanan Smith, Founder of Magen Krav Maga, Club President Vanessa Havener and [...]
Member Craft Talk- Kristine Shea Amorello
Craft Talk- Kristine Shea Amorello Weekly Meeting November 13th, 2019 Pictured above is Craft talk organizer Jeff Tromberg and Kris Amorello (formally Klemetsmo). Jeff led a Q&A with Kris [...]
Doug Mosely of ESPN and the Boca Raton Cheribundi Bowl
Doug Mosely of ESPN and the Boca Raton Cheribundi Bowl Weekly Meeting October 23rd, 2019 Pictured above are Doug Mosely of ESPN and Club President Vanessa Havener. Doug [...]
December 11, 2019 – Jonathan Raineau Craft Talk
Jonathan Raineau Craft Talk Weekly Meeting December 11, 2019 Pictured above are Avery Yudien, Program Chairman and Jonathan Raineau, President of Sheraton Hotel and Casino. My story begins [...]
Author Joan Lipinsky Cochran
Author Joan Lipinsky Cochran Weekly Meeting November 20th, 2019 Pictured above is author Joan Lipinsky Cochran, speaker at the Nov. 20 Club meeting. Ms. Cochran is a former [...]
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