WHY WE JOINED ROTARY: Peder & Julie Norby

 

“As is so often said, you get out of Rotary what you put into it!” says Julie Norby, who joined Rotary in 2006. She adds “I am proud to be a Rotarian and I am even more proud to be a member of THE Rotary Club of Carlsbad!”

“I joined Rotary shortly after Peder and I were married, having attended a few meetings with him while we were dating. Each meeting I attended left me feeling better than when I arrived, and I quickly realized it’s the people who make Rotary in general…and this club in particular…such a special organization. It’s among these wonderful, kind-hearted, involved, and genuinely good people who are all there for the right reasons that I want to invest my personal time.”

“As my mother always said, "You are the company that you keep..." If that’s true, then I wanted to be a part of this Carlsbad Rotary!“

By the time Julie joined, Peder had already been hanging around Carlsbad Rotary for 20 years. A past-president of the club, he’d originally joined due to the encouragement of one of his business colleagues. Despite distractions caused by operating a business and starting a family, he considered Rotary’s mission of Service Above Self to be important enough to carve out time from his busy schedule.

“Several meetings after I’d joined Rotary, I realized it was one of the best decisions of my life,” he now recalls.

“Peder and I are very busy professionals, and both being in Rotary is one way to guarantee an evening out together every week. We like the fact that this is something we can do together as a couple,” says Julie. The club currently has six couples, and they all have a common interest in service.

Of course, membership in Rotary International is about MUCH more than just going to weekly meetings. “Julie and I travel extensively, and we have had the chance to actively participate and see Rotary in action all over the world,” observes Peder, adding “No matter the location, Rotary is there. We’ve taken advantage of the global aspect of Rotary to sponsor international students in our home, helping to enrich young lives, hopefully leading to a more peaceful, just and understanding world.”

Adds Julie; “Rotary provides me the opportunity to serve my community in many valuable ways. From organizing the Children's Christmas party to writing the club newsletter to serving as club President, I love the doors this group opens for me.”

Among those opportunities is the Carlsbad Wine & Vine Jubilee Uncorked, which is celebrating its third anniversary on Saturday, August 3rd. “We were motivated by our love of wine, and the steady stream of need within the community,” says Julie. “Peder & I saw Ava Payne and Violeta Petrova coordinating annual fundraising concerts, and felt we could also rise to the occasion and give back to the community that’s given us so much.”

“So we combined the two issues and created the Wine & Vine Festival, which has become a ROARING success!”

“Like all Rotarians, we apply the four-way test to everything we think, say and do,” Peder adds. “We saw the Wine & Vine Festival as a chance to build goodwill and better friendships while benefitting a substantial portion of the local populace.”

“Then we looked at other area clubs’ wine and beer events that each year were generating over $125,000 to be returned to the community and we felt inspired, feeling we can do that too.”

“This year, Carlsbad Wine & Vine Jubilee Uncorked has grown SO much that we’ve had to move it to Carlsbad Flower Fields. We know we’re well on our way to the kind of success originally envisioned, and can’t wait to see what happens at this year’s event.”

Join us on Aug. 3 to see for yourself the tremendous success that Peder and Julie have created. Tickets are available at http://bit.ly/UNCORKED19. Get the details at https://lnkd.in/gJYWf3t.

Clink Clink!
Cheers!

Peder & Julie