By Rod McLeod, PR & Marketing Committee Chair, Rotary Club of Weston

At 4:30am on a very chilly December Sunday morning, Weston Town Center is a different kind of place. The sun is still at least two hours from rising. Main Street is lined with forty white-tented booths ... at the intersection with Bell Tower Lane there’s a frenzy of activity, bright lights, sound checks and chatter around a portable stage. Weston Rotarians in their distinctive yellow shirts rush through assigned volunteer tasks while sponsors and exhibitors are readying their booths for the GetFit-Weston Family Festival. The Runner Registration Team is set-up for the first arrivals at our 13th Annual ‘Run for Tomorrow’... a trifecta of Half Marathon, 5K Run and a 5K Walk; we’re expecting close to 2,000 participants who will greet this new day by running, walking and striding through the streets of Weston.

My assignment this Sunday is to work with the “Vehicle Parking Team” ... led by the good-humored Gaston Reboredo ... who flits about in his Solara convertible, adorned in a straw hat, cheerfully leading his team of Weston Rotarians with a wave of his flashlight and his infectious smile. Our task is to direct the arriving runners, walkers, exhibitors, volunteers, suppliers and visitors to the available parking areas. Other volunteer teams are being deployed: Water Stations, Sag Wagons, Student Volunteers, Race Management and so on and so forth. Most have a smile on their face. Some are still sleepy. And all feel a sense of belonging to an organization, and an activity, that is doing good things for people in our community and around the world.

The proceeds from these events will benefit the Rotary Club of Weston Charities Fund and the Rotary Foundation. Among the local beneficiaries of the RCW Charities Fund are the YMCA’s After School Programs, the Broward Cooperative Feeding Program, the Susan B. Anthony Recovery Center, the Alexander "Sandy" Nininger State Veterans' Nursing Home in Pembroke Pines, and Harvest Drive. And, our support of the Rotary Foundation enables every Rotarian, and our sponsors, to have a global impact by funding programs targeted on the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty.

Rotary International’s current theme is Building Communities, Bridging Continents. Weston Rotarians ... and everyone who participated in the 13th Annual Run for Tomorrow and the Get Fit-Weston Family Festival ... joined together to bring that theme to life in our community. Happy New Year.

Recent Rotary Happenings

As part of Weston Rotary’s recognition of leaders and contributors in our community, we presented to Dr. Brian Cross, orthopedic surgeon, and Dr. Barry Schwartz, plastic surgeon, RCW Humanitarian Awards for their exceptional volunteer service in Haiti following last January’s devastating earthquake ... Congrats to our most recent Students of the Month: Sachin Shah, Cypress Bay HS, and Randy Cohen, Western HS... Welcome to our newest Rotarian: Jack Mannix, Jack E. Mannix & Associates, LLC ... Thanks to our Rotarians of the Month: Bob Greene and Craig Prickett.