2023-2024 Odessa City Guide Page 43 Odessa Rotary Club, chartered in 1988, was one of the rst clubs in this international organization to be chartered with women. Rotary is where neighbors, friends and problem-solvers share ideas, join leaders and take action to create lasting change. Present membership is 30. Club meets noon, Thursdays at a rotation of local restaurants. For meeting locations, contact the club president. More than 150 students have bene ted from scholarships given each year to Odessa High School graduates and to students continuing their education at state-supported Missouri colleges and universities. An endowment fund of more than $150,000 is used to provide four $1000 scholarships to high school graduates and additional funding for quali ed applicants who are continuing their education. Club has a chartered Interact Club for students of Odessa High School. Interact Clubs are sponsored by Rotary chapters worldwide to promote community service and international understanding. Club is also undertaking a project to construct the “Rocky Roots Trail” around the 1940s city reservoir. In addition to support of Polio Plus, a Rotary International project to eradicate polio worldwide, the club sponsors an OHS student to attend Boys State, donates to the Senior Center, BackSnack program, Shoes for Orphan Souls, Odessa Project Connect and sponsors students to attend the Rotary Youth Leadership Academy. Two Students of the Month are honored from Odessa High School during the school year. Community events sponsored by the club Odessa Rotary Service include the Frog and Turtle Races at Puddle Jumper Days. Hannah Spaar is Rotary club president. Odessa Rotary Club members survey the older of the two lakes at the city reservoir property as they work on the “Rocky Roots Trail.”
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