Revitalized 'Macomb Rotary' Seeks New Members, Support for Harvest Festival

Sterling Heights has one. Shelby-Utica has one. Even the Anchor Bay communities have one. So why doesn’t Macomb Township have an active Rotary Club?

For five years, that question has plagued longtime Rotary member Dennis Torp. This month, the situation will be rectified.

Although Rotary International did charter a “Clinton-Macomb Rotary Club” five years ago, Torp said “virtually no support from the government in Clinton Township or anyone else” in that area led members to turn their focus to the community north of Hall Road.

Receiving permission from Rotary International to widen the club’s attendance boundaries to encompass all of Macomb County, the club recently renamed itself the “Macomb Rotary” and will celebrate its grand re-opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, July 31, at Brio Restaurant in

“We wanted a club in Macomb (Township) originally, but you have to have a large enough area to support it,” said club secretary Torp. “But after we put feelers out and started moving around in Clinton Township, we found no support there. Then we started in Macomb.”

As Macomb Township is the geographical center of the county, Torp has high hopes of using the community as a sort of headquarters to bring all nine Rotary Clubs in the county together for events and fund-raisers in the near future.

“Wouldn’t it be wild if we could get the nine clubs to Macomb Township and host a Harvest Festival for all of the clubs?” Torp said. “We’ll start working on something like that almost immediately and invite the other Rotary Clubs to join us as a huge fund-raiser. That’s one of our dreams.”

In the meantime, Torp and other members, including one of the club’s newest, Macomb Township Supervisor Mark Grabow, will work to increase membership.

“If we can get the membership, we can make things happen,” Torp said.

Six to eight new Macomb Rotary members, including Grabow, will be “pinned” by current District 6380 Governor Don Riddell of the Troy Rotary Club at the July 31 re-opening celebration.

Newly-elected Club President Julie Kratz will also use the event to recognize longtime Rotary member Charlie Myers for his 50 years of continuous “Service Above Self” Rotary involvement. Those interested in attending the July 31 celebration as a Rotary guest can do so by paying a $20 per person fee. RSVP to Torp by July 23 at dtorp@comcast.net.

Following the celebration at Brio, the Macomb Rotary Club will continue to meet at 7:30 a.m. Tuesdays at the Pantry Restaurant on Hall Road.

Anyone interest in joining the Rotary, or learning more about Rotary’s advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through its worldwide fellowship of business, professional and community leaders, can contact Torp at dtorp@comcast.net, 586-465-2203 or 586-899-1500.