District 5030 Year-End Celebration
On June 16, 2025, we gathered to celebrate the accomplishments of our Clubs and individual members. The list below is just a highlight of what we accomplished in our District, which includes 50 clubs in the Greater Seattle Area.
We had the honor of giving out two special awards from Rotary International: The Service Above Self Award to Son Michael Pham and the Citation for Meritorious Service to Jeffrey Brennan. There is a separate article describing these awards.
Figure 1 Tom Leonidas, Rotarian of the Year with his Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club
We also awarded Tom Leonidas from the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club as Rotarian of the Year. This is a special award that recognizes an individual who has gone above and beyond in service to the district and rotary. This year’s recipient has shown great initiative, exceptional leadership and when given a challenge responds, “sure we can do that” and then he takes the reins and turns a traditional district training event into something groundbreaking with record attendance, food trucks, and amazing speakers and participation.
Club Awards
We added fun to the event by giving out giant used trophies. Yes, they were so strange, they were beautiful!
Figure 2 Shoreline Rotary Club
Most Fun Club: Every club nominated themselves as “Most Fun Club,” but the winner was Shoreline Rotary Club. Shoreline is a breakfast club that is downright silly with an active peanut gallery and high energy to start the day.
Outstanding Club Service Project: Vashon Island Rotary Club, who sponsored a beach cleanup. Despite its small size (25 members), the Vashon Island Rotary Club’s “Epic Day of Service” brought together over 50 volunteers from both on-island and off-island to clean up Vashon Island beaches. The cleanup totals came to: 127 tires, 542 pounds of trash, 50 gallons of commingled plastics, glass, and metals, and one empty propane tank.
Figure 4 Bellevue Eastside Rotary Club
Net New Members: Bellevue Eastside Rotary Club with 26% growth.
Figure 5 Lake Forest Park Rotary Club
District-Wide Service Project: Lake Forest Park Rotary Club for their Bold for Blood project that has been a leader in raising awareness for Blood donation in the community and inspiring cross-club participation.
Figure 6 Des Moines & Normandy Park Rotary Club
Outstanding Club Fundraiser: Des Moines/Normandy Park Rotary Club for the Poverty Bay Blues & Brews Fest. Now in its 16th year, this annual celebration of music, craft beer, and community spirit exemplifies Rotary’s mission of service above self. Each August at Des Moines Beach Park, Blues & Brews draws 1,200-1,500 attendees for a full day of live blues performances, featuring top PNW artists, alongside tastings from local breweries and restaurants. More than a summer tradition, 100% of the net proceeds directly support the club’s charitable initiatives, including:
- Highline Music4Life, providing instruments and music education to underserved students,
- The Des Moines Area Food Bank, which has seen a 50% increase in demand this year
- Youth scholarships and Parks & Recreation Programs.
Figure 7 University District Rotary Club
Most $ donated to the Rotary International Foundation: University District Rotary Club with over $129K to the Rotary Foundation and Polio Plus.
Figure 8 Edmonds Daybreakers Rotary Club
Most $ donated to the Rotary International Foundation (Annual Fund per capita): Edmonds Daybreakers Rotary Club with an average per capita giving of $1,757 and total of $66K raised.
Figure 9 University Sunrise Rotary Club
Governor’s Choice Award: University Sunrise Rotary Club with their work uplifting the local Afghan community, creating partnership globally and building a bridge to spread peace in the world.
Foundation Recognition
I would also like to thank all of you for supporting the Rotary International Foundation. We wouldn’t be able to provide District Matching Funds and Global Grants without your support. This past year, our District offered matching points to anyone who donated to the annual fund and was working on their Paul Harris recognition. Over the past year, the District has matched 11,000 points to 43 individuals from 24 unique clubs in our district. This number does not include those who donated at the Major Donor Status or above since we were not allowed to match points at these levels.
RISE (Rotarians Inspired to Succeed and Engage) Graduation
Figure 10 RISE Graduation Fall 2024
Two years ago, Lisa Edwards and I were at the Zone Institute (this is a conference open to all Rotarians in Zones 26/27, which represents the Western past of the United States and part of British Columbia) when we heard a presentation on servant leadership and Rotary. We came home and she and I, together, developed the RISE program (Rotarians Inspired to Serve and Engage). On June 25th we graduated the fourth cohort with a total of 71 graduates so far. We have had 52 amazing mentors (representing 24 clubs) to assist with this program. Lisa and I are proud that this program, which is unique to our district, has been recognized by the RI Zone for an outstanding leadership program and there are plans to expand this beyond our district.
Thank you for being the Magic of Rotary!
There are countless dedicated members, projects, and initiatives, that are not mentioned in this article. I thank all of you for your continued dedication and service. You have spread the Magic of Rotary through your work! Not only did you create positive change in the globe and our community, but I had the privilege to grow because of you. I am honored to serve as a steward for the District this past Rotary year and I know we’re in good hands with our incoming District Governor, Jeff Borek!
With gratitude,
Rachele Bouchand
Past Rotary District Governor, 2024-2025
