By Leigh Larson, Rotary Club of Great Falls, Montana, USA
When I scored tickets to see Taylor Swift perform in Edinburgh with my cousin in June 2024, I planned to check out Edinburgh and London and head back home to Montana. But one of the benefits of being a Rotary member is that the world becomes smaller through the connections we share with members around the world.
When I moved to Montana in 2022, I was new to town, a web and graphic design business owner, and recovering from a divorce. I had heard about the military base in Great Falls through colleagues during my service in the US Air Force Reserve Chaplain Corps in Denver, Colorado. I had also worked with the Rotary club in my hometown of Fort Worth, Texas, during a post-college internship. I hoped Rotary could be the answer to that overwhelming feeling of moving somewhere new – and it was.
Those Great Falls Rotarians were happy to put me to work as their “tech guru.” I was given the opportunity to design their meeting slideshow and social media graphics and encouraged the chapter to move from a bulky, slow laptop to a lightweight streamlined iPad. Through board and lunch meetings, I learned more about Rotary and its global reach. Our president attended the Rotary International Convention in Singapore and brought back inspiring stories about the projects clubs were doing everywhere.
About a week before I was to head to Edinburgh covered in glitter and sequins (appropriate attire for a Taylor Swift concert), I emailed Rotary clubs in St. Andrews and Oban to ask if I could attend their next meeting. The St. Andrews club invited me to come to their golf tournament and Oban welcomed me to join them for lunch the following Tuesday.
I walked through the rain and fog to the clubhouse of St. Andrews Golf Course, nervous about what to expect. I needn’t have been. Club officers gave me a tour of the clubhouse, shared stories of notable Rotary events and fundraisers, and even invited me to walk out on the course for some photos, which made my dad back home quite jealous. We exchanged flags with the historic Old Course behind us.
The St. Andrews Rotarians appreciated that a small-town Montanan made time to visit with them and learn their club’s history, even if she was a glitter-speckled Taylor Swift fan. St. Andrews members are very proud and formal, but friendly and welcoming. The history of the course and club is wonderful. I would recommend to any Rotarian to consider making the trip to play in their annual golf tournament fundraiser.
A few days later, I took a train to the other side of Scotland through the Highlands to the Hebrides town of Oban. Whereas St. Andrews is formal and prestigious, Oban is casual and relaxed. You can see the Island of Mull and seals play in the marina from the road outside of the Oban club. Oban club members wasted no time teasing my American accent and got a kick out of me cocking my head when I couldn’t understand their thick Scottish accents. But before the lunch meeting ended, I was dishing jokes right back.
I enjoyed meeting their female president, who was a former police chief. She invited me to share about my chapter and our major fundraiser project: summer camps for underprivileged children at our Camp Rotary. We believe that all kids should be able to spend a week at camp in the majestic Montana mountains, and we hold an annual fundraiser to do so.
The Oban chapter inquired about our female membership, and I proudly shared that we have an incoming female president and our membership base is 44% women. We exchanged flags and the Oban members gave me some awesome travel tips to explore local Scottish history and castles. I even made it up to Loch Ness.
Digitalization is incredibly important as Rotary continues to adapt. It’s become critical that clubs involved tech-savvy members to help with social media, QR codes, Canva slideshows, Zoom meetings, email newsletters, etc. Sometimes, that change looks like members who sing to Taylor Swift, perform TikTok dances, and know how to use hashtags.
But adapting doesn’t mean Rotary’s mission and purpose has changed. Rotary remains a global organization that connects leaders and humanitarians to positively influence our local communities and our larger world. It’s the sharing of ideas over meals in foreign countries that reminds us that while we may be of different interests, generations, and nationalities, we are all bound by the commitment to serve and solve humanitarian problems.
Whether you come from the land of bagpipes or the land of Taylor Swift, when you’re a Rotarian, you belong. I am thankful to the Rotary Club of Great Falls, Montana, for welcoming me when I was new in town. And to the Scottish Rotary clubs for inviting me to share haggis and tea. Rotary has a special place in my heart. I look forward to connecting with foreign Rotary clubs on my next international trip.
https://blog.rotary.org/2025/08/12/when-youre-a-rotarian-you-belong/