WHITEHALL — The Montague-Whitehall Rotary Club, like other chapters of the international organization, changes its president each year on a rotating basis. Tuesday's meeting marked that move for the 2025-26 year, as Brent Raeth accepted the presidency from Esther Baldridge, the outgoing president.
Raeth thanked Baldridge for her time leading the local chapter and complimented her for serving amid health struggles she faced this year, saying she embodies the Rotary motto, Service Above Self. He then shared his vision for Rotary's next year, which revolves around the theme of "small town, big impact."
"We are a small but mighty group," Raeth said. "I think we have amazing leaders in this room."
Raeth added that he wants to live up to that big impact by increasing participation among club members. He said he views participation as a cornerstone of what the club does, adding that when participation is concentrated among a small amount of people, it can lead to burnout and that can hurt the club in the long run.
"Everybody can't be at everything all the time, but our club needs to be known for taking action," Raeth said.
Before officially passing the presidency to Raeth, Baldridge shared some of the accomplishments Rotary had over the past year, including serving four free meals to the community, sponsoring two summer concerts at the Montague Bandshell (one last year and one this year), and partnering with Rotary's youth Interact clubs to participate in the local Christmas parade, the White Lake Trash Bash, and the Heart and Sole 5K run in Fruitport. In addition, the club distributed six $1,000 scholarships to graduating seniors - three each from Whitehall and Montague - and sponsored an exchange student this past school year.
Baldridge also shared that nine new members joined Rotary in 2024-25. She then passed out recognition awards to fellow club members that put in extra time this year, using a candy theme for most awards to highlight members who went the "Extra" mile, raised "100 Grand," and had earned a "break" with a piece of Kit Kat.
