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 – Incoming President Jeff Tromberg, Bankruptcy Attorney
Right on the heels of electing Jeff Tromberg to become President of the Club for 2022-2023, Jeff provided the Club members with a Craft Talk moderated by member Steve Clarfield. Jeff grew up [...]
New Members: Ken Jarvis, Chad Lalsingh & Sandy Burkart
We were delighted to induct three new members to our Club: Club President Julie Vianale welcomed Ken Jarvis (nominated by Gerry Purdy), Dr. Chad Lalsingh (nominated by Steve Clarfield) and Dr. Sandy Burkart [...]
President Jeff Tromberg & Officers & Directors Elected for Rotary Year 2022-2023
Past President Bill Riddick hosted part of the Club meeting. He first presented slides created by Vanessa Havener that identified the different positions for Club leadership and the different events in which the [...]
New Member Victoria Salem
The Club was pleased to induct a new member, Victoria Salem. She was born in France and introduced herself to the club members in a wonderful way using the poetic reference above. She gave one of [...]
Rotary 4-Way Test Awards for Boca Area High School Graduates
Each year, our Club honors the local area high school graduate with a $250 award who most exemplifies the meaning of the Rotary 4-Way Test. The selection is made by the high school [...]
Boca Robotics Club “Dirty Mechanics” Competed in the World Robotics Championships
The Club was pleased to have members of the FRC robotics team #3932 “Dirty Mechanics” attend our meeting. Their club’s founder, David Ferguson, was also in attendance. The club members Rebecca Levy and [...]
Provost Van Williams of PBSC Presented a $20,000 Check by Scholarship Chair Pia Giannone
The Club was delighted to host Van Williams, Provost of the Boca Raton campus at PBSC. Pia Giannone, Scholarship Chair, presented Provost Williams with a check for $20,000 for traditional scholarships. This is [...]
Joseph Abruzzo, Palm Beach County Clerk of the Court
The Club was pleased to have Joseph Abruzzo, Clerk of the Palm Beach Country Court as our guest speaker. Joseph Abruzzo is the Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller for Palm Beach [...]
Jeff Sessano, New Member
We inducted a new member – Jeff Sassano – to club. Jeff grew up in the South Hills area of Pittsburgh. He went Robert Morris University. He is single and has a brother [...]
Howard Berg on Speed Reading and Math to Improve Productivity
Our Club had fellow Rotarian Howard Berg as our guest speaker this week. Howard provided a number of techniques to remember numbers (3-Tricycle, 4 – Car) and focus on what’s important in a [...]
Boca Beach Clean Up Project
Our Club participated in a Beach Clean up Exercise on Saturday, April 23, 2022 at South Beach Park from 9-11 am. It was coordinated by Jennifer Gray of Boca Save our Beaches. They [...]
Scholarship Recognition & Mentor, Mentee Luncheon
Our Club was delighted to representatives from both FAU and PBSC present along with many of our mentees and their Club mentors. Scholarship Liaison Chair Pia Giannone provided the FAU and PBSC representatives [...]
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