Pride in community is ever apparent on patriotic holidays in Bryan. Five times a year, American flags line the designated route that includes parts of Texas Avenue, Villa Maria Road, and N. Earl Rudder Freeway, standing tall as if to salute passersby. This tradition — called Flags Across Bryan — is carried out by the Bryan Rotary Club, whose mission is to honor and better its community.
The Rotary Club is an international service organization with more than 35,000 clubs worldwide, of which the Bryan club is one. Rotarians follow a simple motto: service above self, according to Rotary International’s website. “It’s not about driving the nail, it’s about who is going to benefit from this,” says former Bryan club president Walter Hinkle.
This year, the Bryan Rotary Club celebrates a milestone — 100 years since its inception. Due to COVID-19, members aren’t able to celebrate in person, but they still meet for lunch each week — in person while social distancing and via Zoom conference calls. They reflect upon the club’s accomplishments and discuss their next steps to help those in need, from projects within the local community to far-flung corners of the globe.
Projects like Flags Across Bryan and the Field of Valor — the 1,000 flag Salute to Service now in its 10th year — allow community members to display their patriotism and honor veterans and first responders. They also help provide the funding that allows Bryan Rotary Club to carry out its other projects.
Rotary Youth Exchange is one of the club’s largest global programs, according to Joe Cerami, president of Bryan Rotary Club. “Our exchange students have spent their years in many countries recently, including France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Thailand,” Cerami says. The students who come back from the exchange program excitedly offer stories of visiting the Eiffel Tower, skiing in the alps, and laying on the beach in Nice, for example, Cerami says. “There are worldwide opportunities,” he says.
The Bryan Rotary Club does not limit its involvement to Bryan, Brazos Valley, Texas, or even the United States. For example, one member went to great lengths to ensure that $25,000 worth of mosquito nets were safely distributed in India. “He flew over to India himself and tracked the shipment,” Cerami says. “Then he went around with a doctor and distributed the nets to families.”
Internationally, Rotary has made it a goal to eradicate polio, according to its website, with continued work in Afghanistan and Pakistan where the disease is still endemic. The Bryan club encourages its members to help efforts to bankroll the battle against the disease.
Rotary Clubs are organized into districts, and both Bryan and College Station are part of a larger district that circles, but excludes, Houston. Bryan Rotary cooperates with other area clubs within its district. The installation of the Fun for All Playground in College Station for children of all abilities is one example. “The College Station Rotary Club was one of the main organizers for that, and we contributed to that project,” Cerami says.
Bryan Rotary Club’s centennial will officially take place in May. Members planted an oak tree at Veteran’s Park in College Station as one way to mark the club’s anniversary. Their plan to plant 100 trees in Bryan has been postponed because of the pandemic, Cerami says, although he hopes they will be able to revisit the project in the future and educate local children about planting trees and sustainability.
Bryan Rotary Club’s focus is on helping others and how that betters everyone involved. “The Regarding community volunteering, says Hinkle. “if you go do something for somebody that can’t pay you back, it changes your heart.”
For more information, visit bryan-rotary.org.
