About Our Club

Read the club history of the Rotary Club of Lake Hickory by clicking this link.

The Rotary Club of Lake Hickory is committed to the motto “Service Above Self” and strives to enrich our community by giving our time, talents and charitable gifts in the name of Rotary. The club has over 100 members that meet each Tuesday at Noon at Lake Hickory Country Club in Hickory, North Carolina.

Working with youth is Rotary’s long-term investment in the future of the community, the nation, and the world. The Rotary Club of Lake Hickory’s chief philanthropic focus is youth scholarships. Since the first four scholarships were granted in 1986, the Rotary Club of Lake Hickory has awarded over $438,000 to 155 students. High school scholarship recipients are chosen from applicants graduating from a high school in Catawba County, based on academic excellence, financial need, and each student’s personal demonstration of the Rotary motto “Service Above Self.”

Currently, the Rotary Club of Lake Hickory’s major event is the Galaxy Shootout Soccer Tournament. This youth soccer event raises funds to award in scholarships and charitable gifts to local nonprofit agencies. The Galaxy Shootout is one of North Carolina’s largest soccer tournaments with 1,800 participants. In 2010, the soccer tournament earned over $35,000 for local scholarships.

As well as supporting the children and agencies in Catawba County, the club reaches out to the International community. In 2003, the club exceeded our goal for donations to the Polio Plus campaign to eradicate polio worldwide.  The club, in recent years, has been involved in the Shelter Box program, Stop Hunger Now, and continues to support the Polio Plus program.

Meeting Information

The Rotary Club of Lake Hickory currently meets on Tuesdays at noon at Lake Hickory Country Club.  The meetings typically last one hour, and include lunch for members and guests.

Current Officers 

2014-2015 Officers

President:  Ernie Sills

Club Secretary:  Alan Barnhardt

Club Treasurer:  Jack Wade

Sergeant-at-Arms:  Lori Alala

President Elect:  Jeff Mackie

President Nominee:  Katherine Newton

Past-President:  Lysa Deaton-Smith

Directors

Fran Farthing

Roseanna Brown

Floyd Lucas

Angela Chapman

John Leach

Rob Dickerson

Commitee Chairs

Club Administration Chair:  John Leach

Programs:  David Haas

Nominating:  Dick Garlitz

Membership Chair:  Fran Farthing

Membership Orientation:  Julie Packer

Fellowship:  Dick Garlitz

RYLA:  Dick Garlitz

Youth Exchange:  Julie Packer / Don Fuller

Nutcracker:  Ken Ferguson

Public Relations Chair:  Alan Jackson

Service Projects Chair:  Mark Sinclair

PolioPlus:  Ernie Sills

ShelterBox:  Bill Loehr

CART:  Sandy Hardin

Scholarships:  Bill Gruman

Soccer Tournament:  Gary Pope