09 Oct Rotary District Home to Beeville Club Earns Top Regional Honor

Rotary District 5840, which covers 44 counties across South-Central Texas, was named District of the Year for Zone 25B by Rotary International, per the Beeville Bee-Picayune. It finished first among 32 districts in a region that stretches from Texas through the Midwest to Minnesota.

The district spans more than 52,000 square miles and has 56 clubs, including those in Beeville, Kenedy and Karnes City.

The honor came through Rotary’s Roadmap awards, which score districts in four areas: membership, public image, The Rotary Foundation and global efforts such as polio eradication. District 5840 earned commendations in all four and took Best in the Zone for both membership and public image. It also supported community development work at home and abroad.

The recognition comes as civic clubs across the country struggle with shrinking and aging rosters. Local clubs elsewhere have reported trouble recruiting younger members, and Rotary International has listed growing membership and bringing in members under 40 among its priorities.

District 5840 went the other way. District Governor Bobby Martinez said growth set it apart: more members, new clubs and youth clubs. The district added two adult clubs and a Rotaract club for college-aged members, and shared its service projects on social media and at local events. Martinez credited the district’s volunteers, local clubs among them.

For smaller communities like Beeville, Kenedy and Karnes City, that growth speaks directly to the membership gap. Martinez, who is visiting clubs across the state, said his focus now is getting more young people involved, especially college-aged adults, through community-based clubs. More members, he said, means more hands to do the work and more good done at home and abroad.