Tyrone Rotary Club members with Ashley Williams (third from left), Promise Place Executive Director

Lots of exciting changes have been happening with the Rotary Club of Tyrone - starting with our name. At the beginning of the year, the Rotary Club of Fayette Daybreak changed its name to the Rotary Club of Tyrone. As Fayette Daybreak, the club was an early morning breakfast club, but now Tyrone Rotary meets at noon with lunch provided by Chef Sandy Dow of The Mooving Cafe. The meeting location has also changed to Way of Life Church in Tyrone, and meetings are now on Wednesdays. The typical monthly schedule is: regular meetings the first and third week of each month, a service project the second week, and Board Meeting the fourth week.

Another exciting change is the club’s addition of new international members from Cameroon, Africa. They meet with the Tyrone members via Zoom. The connection is thanks to Immediate Past President, Giddy Ticha, who is from Cameroon and had the vision for the collaboration.

Even though it’s an exciting time of change for the Tyrone Club, what hasn’t changed is our commitment to serving others. Over the 2022-2023 Rotary year, the club volunteered at Midwest Food Bank, Royal Animal Refuge, The Real Life Center, the Tyrone Public Library, and the Tyrone Veteran’s Day event. The club also donated school supplies to Teachers of the Year at Sandy Creek High School, Flat Rock Middle School, Burch Elementary, and Crabapple Elementary.

Additionally, the club was awarded both a District Grant and Competitive Grant from District 6900 this year. Thanks to this generous funding, $6,750 was available to support Promise Place, a domestic violence prevention non-profit. The club donated large outdoor swings for the Fayetteville office and the shelter; picnic tables, a new playset, and grill for the outdoor family area at the office; purchased replacement flooring for the shelter; and paid for repair/replacement of an outdoor spigot and concrete pad.

The grant money also funded installation of new front steps at the main entrance to the Fayetteville office. Brandon Nelson (Just BN Handy), was central to making this happen. He replaced the crumbling old steps with beautiful, sturdy ones making it safer for staff, volunteers, clients, and guests to enter the building. In addition, he provided demolition/carry off for both the old steps and the old playset, assembled the new playset, and repaired the concrete pad by the spigot. His contribution was immense and the club is very grateful for all his help.

Each year, July 1 marks the beginning of a new Rotary year. On June 28, The Rotary Club of Tyrone held an induction ceremony to thank out-going President Giddy Ticha, and welcome in-coming President Rick Sacco. Rick already has plans for building membership, continuing to serve the community, and strengthening connections with the Cameroon club members. “We are a small but growing group, committed to service for the Tyrone community and Fayette County,” says Sacco. “Our volunteering is often done with a bit of anonymity and humility. If our work was better known, I’m certain more folks would want to become part of Rotary.”