“The newly formed Marquette Harbor Rotary Club will continue to uphold the longstanding traditions of its predecessor clubs, including hosting major fundraising events that have become key fixtures in the community,” according to a Marquette Harbor Rotary Club press release. “Fish Boil 2025, scheduled for June 14, and HarborFest 2025, set for Aug. 21-23, will both continue to be major annual events supporting local and international Rotary projects.”

There have been talks of merging the Marquette Breakfast Rotary Club and the Marquette West Rotary Club for years. The vote went through in November and was soon after approved by Rotary International. The presidents of both clubs, Fran Finley and Andrew LaCombe, have joined as co-presidents for the newly formed Marquette Harbor Rotary Club.

“The merger of the Marquette Breakfast Rotary Club and the Marquette West Rotary Club into the Marquette Harbor Rotary Club marks a new era of collaboration and impact for people of action,” Finley said. “Our combined efforts will allow us to extend our reach of ‘service above self’ and increase the difference we can make in our community and around the world. We’re excited to continue our fundraising efforts with Fish Boil and HarborFest, and we look forward to welcoming new members to join us in this important work.”

The change comes in response to a nationwide trend of declining membership in service organizations. According to Pamela Christensen, club secretary and co-chair of Harborfest, it used to be common for organizations and businesses to incentivize and fund their employees’ involvement in service clubs like the Rotary Club. In the past couple of decades, though, service organizations have seen a decline in membership, due largely to businesses deprioritizing these incentivizing and funding programs. The Rotary Club continues to have a strong community presence in Marquette, but it no longer made sense to be spread apart into separate organizations.

FINLEY

Rotary clubs differentiate themselves largely by their meeting times and locations, and their service projects, while keeping the same general ethos of service.

“Rotary is an international organization. It has a number of tenants, and (although there are many Rotary chapters) we all work towards the same things,” said Christensen.

Marquette Harbor Rotary Club is welcoming new members to join the organization. Those interested in information about the Marquette Harbor Rotary Club, how to join, or details about upcoming events like Fish Boil 2025 and HarborFest 2025, can visit MQTBreakfastRotary.com or can contact Fran Finley at Frances.r.finley@gmail.com.