Leavenworth Rotary to celebrate 50th anniversary during annual Rotaryfest fundraiser

LEAVENWORTH – This year, the Rotary Club of Leavenworth will be celebrating 50 years of service during its annual Rotaryfest. The Gold Rush-themed fundraiser will be held at the Leavenworth Festhalle on April 5.

“Rotaryfest is our most important fundraising event of the year,” said Leavenworth Rotary Co-President Melanie Baur in a press release.  “It funds the projects we do to help our local community, as well as our international programs.”

In the last 10 years, Leavenworth Rotary has raised and donated $350,000 to local and international projects, according to its website. 

Locally, the club has supported students through exchange programs and scholarships, built the playground and contributed to the pump track at Enchantment Park, and made improvements to the aging Senior Center building, to name a few. 

As a chapter of Rotary International, it has supported literacy and bicycle projects in Guatemala, contributed to medical supplies and clean water systems in various countries, and funded emergency shelter and supplies during natural disasters across the U.S.

“We as a club are so very grateful to the support that we have received over all of these years from our community, and look forward to being good stewards of their generosity and do our best to do whatever we can to support our community and the world at large,” said past president and Club Fundraising Chair Mahala Murphy-Martin.

The club was chartered and founded by Dr. Ed Cadman, an orthopedic surgeon and co-founder of Wenatchee Valley Medical Center, now Confluence Health. Dr. Cadman led medical missions to Malawi to operate on polio survivors; polio eradication is a major tenant of Rotary’s work worldwide.

Although committed to the motto “service above self,” the club’s membership standards were restrictive in its early years, prohibiting women and having strict participation standards. That was until the 1980s, when Elizabeth Saunders became the first woman to join the local chapter, said Murphy-Martin.  

Since then, the club evolved from a “good ol’ boys club” to include broader representation of its community. It also allowed flexibility in attendance, opening the door for younger members with greater family and career obligations to still participate. As a result, the club has continued to grow in recent years, reaching up to 60 local members.

“[I] think that when people see the diversification within the club itself, that makes it more enticing to everyone…It's not one size fits all,” said Murphy-Martin. “We have definitely grown…It's wonderful, and it just gives us more opportunity to do our work in our community and [throughout] the world.”

As the “little club with a big heart” reflects on its accomplishments over the last 50 years, it will set sight on many more years of impactful service at the Rotaryfest fundraiser.

The “Rotaryfest Gold Rush Hoe Down” will be from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Leavenworth Festhalle. The evening will feature a BBQ buffet, entertainment, saloon-style games, auctions, and a dessert dash. Sponsorship and ticket information can be found on the Leavenworth Rotary website.

“We plan on having a lot of fun…Everyone can participate in something and enjoy the evening,” said Murphy-Martin.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media