Message from the President

Rotarians and visitors, welcome to the Union City Rotary Club website! "Service Above Self" and "One Profits Most Who Serves Best" are the foundational mottos of Rotary International. These mottos have been the cornerstone of our local Union City Rotary Club since 1936. Our club meets at noon on 45 Fridays of the year (We don't meet on holiday weekends.). After our meal, we begin every meeting with a patriotic song, the pledge of allegiance to the American flag, and a prayer. We then follow up with all of the Rotarians quoting the 4-Way test. If you're a visitor, you'll be introduced to the club. After this, we turn the podium over to the club's guest speaker.

You'll see that our club is one of the most civic-minded clubs in northwest Tennessee. We have more than 130 club members who step up and contribute to our various service projects. For 42 years, our club has been sponsoring Rotary scholarships to local students attending college or trade schools. Last year we distributed more than $250,000 in scholarships.

Many area residents are familiar with our club via our annual Rotary Relays. Our club sponsors a track meet every April to prepare our regional high school track teams for the state tournaments. Rotarians officiate, announce, direct, and work every aspect of the event which can have over 20 schools participating. Since Rotarians do the officiating, it enables the coaches to coach their teams and not have to officiate their own meet. We also award medals to the winners, which adds additional prestige to the event.

For 16 years we've been sending 8 to 10 high school rising seniors on an all-expense paid trip to Europe each year along with two chaperones. Our club has a travel committee that interviews and selects the travelers. Not only do we send students to Europe, but we also send students to Washington, D.C. For 11 years, we've been sending 10 to 12 high school rising seniors, along with two chaperones, on an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C.

The Union City Rotary Club is a sponsor of the Obion County Reading Railroad. Each child in Obion County from birth to age five receives a book each month mailed to his home. Our club also hosts a monthly meeting for Rotary Interact consisting of local high school students who'll hopefully be future Rotarians. Union City Rotary Club members form the board for The Promethean Foundation to help local "at-risk" pre-school children.

The Union City Rotary Club has been a continuous financial supporter of Rotary International, which has ongoing service projects around the world.

Hopefully after reading this letter, you can see how the Union City Rotary Club is serving our community. Our club wants our community to thrive; therefore, we want to do all we can to help. My wish is for the Union City Rotary Club to continue serving our neighbors, whether financially or with our personal time, a little more than the year before.

It is my honor and privilege to serve as you the 87th President of the Rotary Club of Union City, Tennessee.

Yours in Service,

Rance Barnes
President 2024-2025