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Service Above Self since 1915

Southeastern North Carolina's oldest, largest and finest       civic organization

What's new

Club seeking nominations for Leaders in Service awards

The Wilmington Rotary Club is soliciting nominations for its fifth annual Leaders in Service awards, which will honor top leaders in three categories of local enterprise: business, non-profit and government. The three honorees will be recognized at a banquet on May 12, 2026.

The awards program and banquet are a fund-raiser for the club, which since 1915 has been undertaking projects to improve our community, the nation, and the world. Corporate sponsorships and individual ticket sales will benefit the Rotary Club’s local, non-profit charitable arm, the RCDW Foundation. This year, the foundation will disburse $80,000 or more in grants to non-profit organizations and in support for the club’s own projects, primarily focused on basic education and literacy.

Anybody can nominate a local leader for an award. A form is available on the Leaders in Service website.

The club will soon be asking for sponsors to support our work. Sponsorship levels are Platinum ($10,000), Gold ($5,000), Silver ($2,500) and Friend of Rotary ($1,000.)

More details, including a nomination form, can be found online at www.leadersinservice.org.

The Wilmington Rotary Club’s RCDW Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable institution. That means sponsorships will be largely tax-deductible for donors. In return for their support, sponsors will be recognized at the awards banquet and in public media advertising and will receive multiple tickets to the May 12, 2026 awards banquet.

Individual tickets will go on sale next spring, for $150.

Rotarians sort and pack more than 6,000 pounds of fresh produce at Food Bank

Fresh vegetables to become part of more than 5,000 meals

A large contingent of Rotarians spent a Saturday morning at the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina September 20, sorting and packing more than 6,000 pounds of peppers, squash and sweet potatoes. This fresh produce will supply more than 5,000 meals to people in need. As a reminder to the community about Rotary's "Service Above Self" ethos, the volunteers wore T-shirts with the message "People of Action."

Rotarian volunteers with a big array of donated supplies for students in need.

'Stuff the Bus' project collects backpacks and school supplies

Members of our club donated more than 500 items, including backpacks and other needs for school children, during the Stuff the Bus project on August 13. The Rotary Club donated supplies through this project of Communities in Schools Cape Fear, which supports students in 33 schools in New Hanover and Pender Counties.

Rotary Legacy Award honors Eugene W. Merritt, Jr.

Eugene W. Merritt Jr., a retired real-estate developer and long-time civic activist, was honored with the Wilmington Rotary Club’s second-ever Legacy Award on May 13. This honor was created in 2024 to recognize people who have made major contributions, over many years, to improving the quality of life in Wilmington and New Hanover County.

The award was presented at the Rotary Club’s fourth annual Leaders in Service Banquet. Merritt will receive the Legacy award alongside this year’s three Leaders in Service honorees. Leaders in Service recognizes leaders in the private, non-profit and public sectors who are making Wilmington a better place to live, work, and raise a family.

Merritt was honored for his accomplishments in several important areas that shaped how Wilmington grew in the past half century:

• Downtown revitalization, starting in the 1970s.
• Reforming alcohol laws to permit the sale of mixed drinks in restaurants.
• Blocking a proposed coal-loading facility on the downtown waterfront.
• Securing political support and funding, in both Raleigh and Washington, for construction of the Interstate 40 extension to Wilmington.
• Keeping the "One Tree Hill" TV show production in Wilmington.
• Amending state law to permit restaurants to serve food and drink on decks over public waters.

2025 Leaders in Service honorees recognized

From left: honorees Ben David, Margaret Weller-Stargell, and Chip Mahan

Also on May 13, the club presented its fourth annual Leaders in Service Awards. They went to Ben David, former district attorney for New Hanover and Pender Counties, in the government category; Margaret Weller-Stargell, CEO of the Coastal Horizons Center, in the non-profit category; and James S. "Chip" Mahan III, CEO of Live Oak Bank, in the private-sector category. Leaders in Service recognizes executives and other leaders who have made outstanding contributions to their community. Through sponsorships and ticket sales, it is the Wilmington Rotary Club's chief fund-raiser.

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For Rotarians

October 7: At noon, immediately before our regular meeting, Rotarians are asked to write thank-you cards for public-school teachers. The club will provide the cards and the pens.

October 29: Rotarians and their guests are invited to socialize at the next informal "Fifth Wednesday" gathering. We'll be hosted by Wine Knot Sky Bar on the ninth floor of the Murchison Building, 201 N. Front St. The venue will provide snacks and hors d'ouevres, and a cash bar. No RSVP needed; members of all Wilmington-area Rotary Clubs are invited.

November 8: Volunteers are needed to help clean and otherwise assist at the paws4people dog-training center in Castle Hayne. This family-friendly event, meaning children can help, will run from 8:30 to 11 a.m. The club has supported this organization, which trains service dogs for people with disabilities, for many years.

January 10, 2026: A day of urban tree planting in coordination with the Alliance for Cape Fear Trees will need Rotarian volunteers. Details to be announced.

Ongoing: The Literacy Committee needs volunteers for our Together We Read program in partnership with the D.C. Virgo Preparatory Academy, UNCW, and now Alderman Elementary School.  This brings volunteer mentors together with children who need additional support in reading. The objective is to build confidence in reading through the relationship with the mentor, as well as to begin building the child's personal library. Our sign-up form has two time slots for each day of the week, for volunteers who are able to commit to be mentors for a full 10-week semester. Substitute volunteers may also volunteer as the need arises without committing to a full semester. After a standard school background check, all volunteers will have an orientation. To sign up, follow this link.

Ongoing: See video recordings of past meetings (since June 2020), accessible only to logged-in members of the club. To find a meeting video, follow this link. You will be prompted to enter your Rotary username (normally your email) and your password (the member number found in the address block on your Rotary magazine). The meetings index is a PDF file that contains clickable links to the meetings on our private Youtube channel.

Ongoing: Members can download a digital copy of the club's current Handbook, which includes a membership roster and other important information. This requires a login to the district and club database, as outlined in the item above.

Ongoing: Anyone participating in a service project is urged to get photographs of Rotarians at work for use in both public outreach and internal communication. Email  high-resolution photos to the club's Public Image Committee. (Contact info is in the club handbook.) Also helpful: Please follow, like, and share the club's social-media pages and posts. See links above.

Our club's background

The club was founded in 1915. For details, go to Club History page.

Projects

What we believe

Our club has endorsed Rotary International's diversity, equity and inclusion statements. For details, go to our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion page and to Rotary International's DEI page.

Membership: a choice for fellowship and service

For details about how to become a member, go to the Membership page.

Rotary's seven areas of focus

The club's service priorities are based on part on Rotary International's seven areas of focus. (The seventh, the environment, is new in 2021.) The areas of focus are:

• Peace and conflict prevention/resolution.

• Disease prevention and treatment.

• Water and sanitation.

• Maternal and child health.

• Basic education and literacy.

• Economic and community development.

• The environment.