This week's Portage Life in the Spotlight, Beth Ingram, is looking to bring back passion and engagement to the Portage Rotary Club.
While interest was becoming slowly lost and membership was lacking in the club, a few of the remaining members thought it was time to close down the Portage chapter. What the Portage Rotary Club needed though, was an outsider with passion to revitalize it.
“I was a Rotary member in the La Porte Chapter and found great fellowship there, great service, and great community support. So, I sought out a Rotary Club here in Portage, which at the time didn’t have much support,” said Beth. “I found the Portage club and that’s when we had Rotary International step in along with Dan Ryan, our district membership chair. He reached out to me and some others and said 'Hey, let's try to get Portage Rotary reinvigorated'.”
Currently the Portage Rotary Club is on the rebound, thanks to its members and Beth Ingram’s work within the community.
“We’re really just getting started, so we’re really looking for ways right now we can help support our community,” she said. “Portage is such a strong, small community and is very diverse. Right now the Club is up to 29 members. We’re a diverse collection of people to represent our little community.”
Ingram and the revitalized club are looking to the future by partnering with Gabriel’s Horn Homelesss Sheler, an organization that supports women in need. They’ve also partnered with Interact, which is the Portage High School Chapter of Rotary to help them as well.
“We have some leadership conferences that we’re going to be sending those kids to,” Ingram explained.
Ingram states that anyone that is interested in joining the Portage Rotary Club can call her direct 219-763-2273 or just come out to a meeting. The club meets every Tuesday 12-1 PM at the NEO Adult Education Center (formerly Camelot Bowling Alley).