By Adam Smith

The North Jefferson News



The Gardendale Rotary Club has seen a handful of projects come to fruition this year, and has several more on the horizon.

One of the club’s major projects will be fully realized today at 2 p.m. when the ribbon is cut on the Miracle League field at Luman Harris Park. The club has organized two gala events over the past two years to raise $50,000 for the field.

“We’ve had quite a year with all the things we’ve done,” said Gardendale Rotary Club President Mark Argo. “We’ve had a lot of support for the Miracle League and we’re hoping to have support for other community projects.”

In mid-March, the 45-member club participated in Rotary International’s Water and Sanitation Health Rotary Action Group [WASHRAG] project in an effort to provide clean water and filtration to impoverished parts of the world.

Five Gardendale Rotarians — Chuck Cater, Richard Bradley, Lamar Kelly, Tim Watts and Bobby Campbell — traveled to Santa Rosa, Nicaragua, to dig wells and install clean water filters for a village of nearly 200 Miskito Indians.

Argo said Rotary International has been involved in water projects for about 30 years. “Sustainability is a major issue right now,” he said. “You can’t just put a well down there if you don’t teach them how to use it and how to keep the water clean.”

Cater, an electrician, said despite the discomfort of sleeping in a tent in Central America, the trip allowed he and the other men to see what kind of impact the club can make on a global level.

The Rotarians experienced some suspicion from villagers, but after a translator explained what the men were there to do, they were greeted with appreciation.

“It was nice to be a part of something that gets results almost immediately,” he said. “Just to see the smiles on the faces made it worth it.”

Another trip is in the planning stages for later this year.

The club is currently involved in several more projects, including an annual donation pledge of $2,500 to Children’s Hospital in Birmingham over five years, the formation of a Rotary Interact Club at Mortimer Jordan High School and the club’s annual scholarship program. At least four $1,000 scholarships will be provided to high school seniors in north Jefferson County this spring.

The club’s next big project is its 25th-annual golf tournament, scheduled for May 1 at Castle Pines Country Club in Gardendale. Proceeds from the tournament will go toward the club’s many projects.

The club is seeking both players and sponsors for the tournament, which will feature four-man scramble teams. The cost is $75 per player.

The tournament also features three levels of sponsorship: $500 for corporate sponsorship; $300 for team sponsorship; and $100 to sponsor a hole on the course. Registration will take place at 7:15 a.m. with a shotgun start at 8 a.m.

Tournament organizer Dean Taylor said the golf tournament is just another way the club can give back on a local and international level. He also said of all the organizations he’s involved in through his business, Webb Payroll, he said the Rotary Club is the most rewarding.

“It’s rewarding to see so many different people come together for the betterment of the community and the world,” he said.

For more information on how to participate in the Gardendale Rotary Golf Classic, contact Taylor at 631-3614 or e-mail him at dean@webbpayroll.com.