Rotary Club of Dallas with President Tyler Ferrari

Show Notes

Today, we’re talking about the Rotary Club right here in Dallas. Our guest today is Tyler Ferrari, the club president and another familiar face from a previous episode.

What is Dallas, Oregon Podcast?

Your source for city updates, behind-the-scenes stories, and conversations with the people shaping our community.

SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the
Dallas Oregon Podcast, your

quick and informative source for
what's happening in and around

our city.

I'm Charlie Mitchell, the city's
economic and community

development director, and each
week we bring together city

staff, local leaders, and
community members to discuss the

projects, people, and
opportunities shaping Dallas.

Today we're talking about the
Dallas Rotary Club right here in

Dallas, and our guest speaker
today is Tyler Ferrari, the club

president, and another familiar
face from a previous episode.

Welcome back, Tyler.

Thanks for having me, Charlie.

Now, Tyler, before we get into
your story and what the Rotary

Club of Dallas is all about, can
you tell us a little bit about

Rotary in general?

SPEAKER_00: So the Rotary Club
started um in the Chicago area

in the early 20th century.

A group of business owners from
the area wanted to get together

and do community service
projects and give back to the

community.

And Rotary's name comes from the
fact that they would rotate

hosting the meeting at each of
their businesses.

And so that's where the club
started.

And ever since then it's
expanded across the country and

across the world.

SPEAKER_01: That's great.

Now I know there are clubs all
over the world.

Do you know roughly how many
there are?

SPEAKER_00: Yeah.

So around the world, there's
45,000 rotary clubs.

Um, and Rotary is home to 1.2
million members across the

globe.

SPEAKER_01: Now, Tyler, how did
how did you come to be involved?

What's what's your story with
Rotary?

SPEAKER_00: Yeah.

Um, so I was working here at the
city of Dallas um for about a

year.

Um and one of the local managers
of one of our local banks

invited me to a meeting to come
hear the interesting speaker.

I took him up on that, um, had a
great free lunch.

Um, and ever since then, I was
just super involved with the

club and really enjoyed
everything that the club was

working on as projects and
everything that they stood for.

And after three meetings, I
became a member and soon after

that became president-elect and
then became the president this

year.

SPEAKER_01: Wonderful.

Now, please tell the listeners
uh what the Rotary Club of

Dallas itself actually does.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah.

Um, so each rotary club is
distinct in that it has its own

local projects that it focuses
on.

Um, and so in Dallas, we focus
um primarily on projects that

are near and dear to our hearts
here in Dallas.

So um, those may involve us
volunteering our time at local

places like the Dallas Food
Bank, providing them with

volunteer assistance, um, or um
volunteering in local parks,

assisting our wonderful parks
crew um with some demolition

that they need to do of old
trails um or some other just

general maintenance projects.

Um, another thing that we do is
we raise money um for um causes

in the community.

So we raise money um for our
partner clubs here in the

community.

Um we also help raise money for
projects around the city.

Um, again, like the um parks um
specifically just recently we

were able to help raise some
money for the Japanese garden.

Um, and then finally, we also
raise money for um our student

scholarship program.

And so we raise money and
provide student scholarships to

high school seniors um every
year for them to pursue

education after high school.

SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Tyler.

That's a great overview of the
many uh ways that the club

impacts the Dallas community.

So I'm curious, um, how does a
Rotary club meeting work and

where are they located and how
does someone join?

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, um, so the
Dallas Rotary meets every

Tuesday at noon in the Dallas
Civic Center, which is on the

bottom floor of Dallas City
Hall.

Um we meet there at noon.

Meeting starts around 1215.

Um, anyone is welcome to join
Rotary Club.

Um, their first three meetings
as a guest, um, they can attend,

um, get free lunch, learn more
about the club.

Um, and after those three
meetings, if they're interested,

um, they are able to become a
member of the club through an

application process.

Um, and then from there, they
pay the initiation fee and their

club dues, um, and they're a
member and are able to

participate in all the meetings
and all the fun things that

we're able to do with the club.

SPEAKER_01: Very good.

Now I know one of the more
interesting and exciting things

that Rotary does that we haven't
talked about yet is the Rotary

Youth Exchange program.

And I know Dallas uh in
particular is a is is a big part

of this, and we've sent Dallas
youth all over the world, and

we've hosted young people from
all over the world as well.

Can you talk a little bit more
about that program?

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so our youth
exchange program is a very

healthy and robust program.

We're happy to be a part of it.

Um we're one of the rotary clubs
that does participate, and

through that program, we send
one student every school year to

spend that school year in
another country.

Um, they go through a matching
process to find um a country and

a family and a club that will be
the right host for them.

Um and they spend the equivalent
of school year, about nine to

ten months there in the country
with multiple host families um

attending school, doing the same
daily activities as students

there, um, and just really
immersing themselves in that

culture and learning more about
a different place in the world.

Um, and while they're doing
that, our club hosts a student

from elsewhere around the world.

And so in the past, we've been
able to host students um from

places like Japan, um places
like Belgium, and also places um

like Chile and South America.

SPEAKER_01: Very good.

Uh, before we start closing down
our program today, is there

anything else about um Rotary in
Dallas or Rotary International

that maybe you'd like to share
with our listeners that we

haven't talked about yet?

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think um I
would love to share with

everyone listening today that
Rotary's biggest fundraiser of

the year is Breakfast in the
Park.

Breakfast in the Park begins at
7 a.m.

on the last Saturday or last
Sunday in July.

Um, and we do it in concert with
um the Chambers Car Show as well

as the Art Association's Art in
the Park.

Um so it's a great time to spend
with your family on a Sunday um

in the park, grab breakfast, um,
visit the art, yeah, art in the

park, visit the car show.

Um, and all the money that we
raise from the Breakfast in the

Park goes to um continuing our
scholarship program for local

Dallas students.

And so we'd love to have the
community out there.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I know um
breakfast in the park has become

kind of a Dallas summertime
tradition.

And I think people like look
forward to uh showing up and

seeing all your friends and
neighbors there, right?

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think I
think uh in in addition to being

a great fundraiser, it's just a
great way to reconnect with the

community.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, because behind
the scenes it's actually a

fundraiser that's doing all
these other good things as well.

Awesome.

So, Tyler, thank you so much for
joining us today and telling us

more about Rotary and the club
we have here, right here in

Dallas.

Um, before we go to close out
our podcast, you know, we

usually ask all of our guests
the same question, but since

you've already answered the
question on a previous episode,

we're gonna ask you a new
question that's similar.

And that is, what is your
favorite thing about Rotary?

SPEAKER_00: I think my favorite
thing about Rotary is the

community that we're able to
build with people across Dallas

and across our small community
here through the good works that

we do.

Um, it's great being able to
build community by doing good

works, especially in a time
where um good works and

community is really needed.

Um, and it's great to be able to
be part of a club that is um

doing those things while also
being able to provide um so much

for the community.

SPEAKER_01: Very good.

Thank you, Tyler.

Thanks again to Tyler for
joining us today, and thank you

to everyone for tuning in.

Be sure to follow us on YouTube,
Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

Thanks for listening to the
Dallas Oregon Podcast.

I'm Charlie Mitchell, and we'll
see you next time.