For 96 years, the Great Bend Rotary Club has been investing time, talent and financial resources in the Great Bend community. On May 13, they continued their celebration and support of our community’s young people by honoring 16 Great Bend High School seniors as Junior Rotarians.  

The Junior Rotarian program connects to Rotary’s mission by honoring students in their education endeavors. Club members are encouraged to build friendships with these young people and develop lifelong relationships.

 The annual Rotary Rendezvous luncheon also served as an opportunity to award Rotary’s annual Junior Rotarian Scholarships. Recipients of the scholarship are Alyssa Keller and Jordan Popp.

“The investment in our young people is a ‘pay it forward’ asset, said Mark Mingenback, rotary club member and event emcee.  “Simply put, this investment insures the success of our community because these outstanding students will be the future leaders of our community, state and nation.”

The 2018-2019 Junior Rotarians are, Nolan Barton, Brock Blessing, Shelbie Deason, Carlos (Dani) Franco, Elizabeth Gerdes, Darian Harbaugh, Molly Kaiser, Alyssa Keller, Hector Lopez, Blake Penka, Matthew Phillips, Jordan Popp, Ruth Reyes, Katherine Snapp, Miriam Vasquez, and Matthew Zorn.

Rotary is a global network of 1.2 million neighbors, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves. 

Rotary members believe that there is a shared responsibility to take action on the world’s most persistent issues. 35,000+ clubs across the globe work together to: promote peace; fight disease; provide clean water, sanitation, and hygiene; save mothers and children; support education; grow local economies.