ADRIAN — In honor of the 25th anniversary of the club, members of Adrian Morning Rotary recently planted a tree at the Adrian Community Preschool, in hopes that the tree lives to see another 25 years of the club’s existence.
“Celebrating our 25th anniversary, we wanted to do something that would be around for the next 25, 50 years, and we thought “Well, let’s try a tree,’ ” said Jim Hartley, president of the club.
Hartley said the idea came about after the club did some work on the inside of the preschool, which provided expanded space when 3-year-old students were added to the preschool this year.
The tree planting coincided with a visit from Nick Krayacich, who is the Rotary District Governor of District 6400, of which the Adrian Morning Rotary Club is a part. Krayacich said the tree planting ties into the environmental initiatives that are an area of focus for Rotary.
“Not only will this tree grow up to provide beautiful shade, but it will be part of our environmental area of focus, and the kids can sit under this tree in the beautiful shade it will provide them,” Krayacich said. “It’s a wonderful project.”
The Adrian Morning Rotary Club started on Sept. 1, 1999, Hartley said.
“There’s been a noon club in Adrian for a long time and it just wasn’t convenient for some people to be in a noon club.” he said. The Adrian Morning Rotary Club started with a few members of the noon club, and soon added more members who found that the morning meeting fit their schedule. Currently, four of the charter members of the club are still active.
One of the club’s ongoing projects is maintaining the Little Free Libraries that have various locations around town. The Morning Rotary Club also provides “Weekend Snack Sacks” for almost 600 elementary school students in Adrian Public Schools and the Madison School District.
Dave Maxwell has been in Rotary since 1976, and is a charter member of the Morning Club.
“Service Above Self is our motto, and that’s why I’m here,” he said. “We provide community service, just like today.”
Rich Donner, another charter member of the Rotary Morning Club, has been in Rotary for 25 years, including the time he spent with a club in Dearborn Heights. He said there are two things that keep him interested in belonging to Rotary.
“First is the work that we do in the community and the people that we serve,” he said. “I’m committed to that.
“The other thing is, it’s a great group of friends, just to hang out with,” he continued. “It’s nice to have a bunch of other people who kind of think the same way and have the same ideas.”
Brandi Johns, who joined the Morning Rotary Club in February, is president-elect of the club for 2025-2026.
“Just being a Rotarian, the network and the fellowship of philanthropy is wonderful,” she said, describing her reasons for membership with the club.
Johns said her goals for her tenure as president include establishing membership, cultivating more membership, and also working on inclusion, representing different ethnicities and cultures.
“Just being more progressive with our future, because we’ve been here for 25 years now,” Johns said. “We have a legacy to stand on.”
The Adrian Morning Rotary Club meets at 7 a.m. on the first and third Wednesday of every month at The Centre, 1800 U.S. 223, Adrian.
