Rotarian of the year reflects on time in organization

Mel Dick’s love for Rotary began in 2009. He had recently retired from his corporate job, he said, and was looking for a way to contribute to his community.

Although Dick was honored this month as the District Rotarian of the Year, he doesn’t do it for the accolades, he said — Rotary is about a collective, and he takes the motto “Service Above Self” seriously.

One of the projects with which he’s been most involved, Dick said is the CHAFE 150 bike race. Proceeds from the event have gone to support the services for children on the autism spectrum in the Lake Pend Oreille School District, and more recently, the district’s after-school reading program.

“He’s always had a heart for kids,” said incoming Rotary president David Keyes. “He’s the one who pushed the CHAFE bike race.”

Last year, Dick also rode over 5,000 miles cross-country on his bike to raise over $15,000 for Rotary youth projects.

Education, specifically, has been a passion, Dick said. The club’s youth programs include a leadership conference and a backpack program.

“I grew up in a family where my mom and dad didn’t go to high school,” Dick said. “They kind of drilled education into my head.”

Dick, along with other Rotarians, also connected with the nonprofit Firewood Rescue through the Rotary, he said. Over the summer and fall, the group chopped and collected wood donations, delivering it to families in need of firewood to heat their homes throughout the winter.

“He has the ability physically, and he has the ability financially to help,” said friend and fellow Rotarian Arthur Pollock. “He’s always been on one committee or another.”

Dick has been an adamant proponent of the Rotary for years, and insists the group deserves credit more than him or any individual. He pointed to the numerous projects the Rotary does not only at a local level, but internationally, such as teaming up with the World Health Organization, United Nations and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to fight polio.

“When we started, 50,000 children were dying from polio a year,” he said. “We’re almost close to eradicating it.”

Aside from the public benefit, he said, one of the things he’s loved about Rotary is how fun it is. Some groups, such as the Whiskey DRAM (Whiskey Drinking Rotarians And Members) don’t require participants to be Rotarians. Still, he’s glad he is one.

“They’re all leaders in their own right,” he said. “Some of my best friends are Rotarians, and if I hadn’t joined Rotary I probably never would have met them.”

For Pollock, that sentiment certainly rings true, he said.

“[Dick] was one of the first people that came up to me and said ‘Arthur, whatever you need, give me a call.’ He found me a doctor, he found me a plumber,” Pollock said. “If I said I’m in trouble, he’ll drop what he’s doing and he’s there … That’s how I’d define a friend. In time of need, you have somebody you can depend on.”