Bellevue Overlake Rotary

Rotary first came to the Eastside of Lake Washington in 1937, when the Kirkland Rotary Club was formed. The Kirkland Club was assigned a territory that included all of present Kirkland, Bellevue and Mercer Island. This was well before the opening of any cross-lake floating bridges.

Bellevue Overlake Rotary Club was chartered in 1980 and sponsored by the Bellevue Tuesday Noon Club. Four of the charter members remain among the current 33 active members in our club: Steve Dewalt, Kit Bowerman, Dick Spady and Tom Horsley.

The Overlake Club is committed to providing scholarships to students seeking higher education, grants to Operation First Harvest, and international service projects. We have a history of granting needed funds to local community organizations and infrastructure such as to the Eastside YMCA, Cecil Loew Park, Rotocare, Spiritwood Manor housing complex, Eastside Mental Health and Bellevue Overlake Hospital. Bellevue Overlake Rotary emphasizes the need to support youth programs through service and donations to programs such as VIBES, Success, Winners of Washington, Interlake High School Debate Team, Interlake High School Choir, Sammamish Jazz Chorale, Decca, Rotary Youth Leadership Association, Job shadowing. We also initiated a project to provide dictionaries to third grade students at a local elementary school.

We participate extensively in International Service projects receiving matching grant funds from Rotary International for the purchase of an ambulance for service in rural South Africa and to provide desks, computers, medical equipment and books to an ESL School in LAO PDR.

One of the most memorable and impacting hands-on project that is ongoing is our Plant a Tree For Citizenship program led by Dick Spady. Plant a tree involves High School students growing evergreen trees from seeds and conducting a tree planting ceremony a year later. Plant a Tree has won national recognition for both Rotary and the City of Bellevue.