If you’re looking for a worldwide volunteer service organization, Rotary International—founded in 1905 and currently with more than 1.2 million members—would be at or near the front of the line. The Rotary name was chosen by its two initial members based on the rotation of local meetings between their offices.

If, however, your search is for a local volunteer organization, a local Rotary club—one of more than 45,000 worldwide—would still be a strong competitor. Rotary clubs, founded with as few as twenty members, are led and funded locally and manage their own service efforts.

In Central Virginia, there are clubs in Louisa, Orange, and Culpeper, but none in or near the rapidly growing Lake Anna region. None, that is, until now—with the founding of the Lake Anna Rotary Club in May of this year. The new club, with an initial membership of close to fifty, has elected its starting officers, led by President Greg Barmoy, and is actively working to find and begin its initial service efforts.

Kristen Barmoy, who will serve as Chairperson for Community and International Projects, told The Breeze, “When we are chartered, our first order of business—and we have already begun—will be to identify areas of need in our region and, where we can help, to get involved.”

The new club hopes to be fully chartered by July 8th. On June 3rd, the group held a “kick-off party” at one of the charter members’ homes. Nearly fifty attendees—charter members, interested individuals, family, and friends—shared food, drink, and fellowship in an environment that can only be described as enthusiastic.

At its charter, the club looks forward to nearly fifty charter members—more than twice the Rotary minimum requirement for new clubs. In addition, nearly fifty more people have indicated interest in the club, suggesting an ongoing membership of close to one hundred.

During a short program, several speakers outlined the goals of the new club, focusing on its primary purpose of doing service in the surrounding area and addressing the needs of individuals, families, and other nonprofit organizations. One of the speakers, Frank Ramey, told the group that the new club is for and by those who “love Lake Anna, love life, love Rotary, and love making a difference.” He added that making a difference doesn’t mean you must do it alone—you can count on help from your club, the district your club is in, and, if need be, from Rotary around the nation and the world.

If the new club can keep their level of enthusiasm and commitment to service even close to what was obvious at the recent kick-off party, the area around Lake Anna will never be quite the same.

Barry Schaeffer

Barry grew up and completed his schooling in southern California, moving to Virginia in 1980.

As a communicator, Barry was a regular columnist for CMSWire, as well as Intranet Development and Newspapers and Technology Magazines, and was a reporter for his local newspaper, The Central Virginian.  He was also one of four consultant/authors for the landmark congressional study “Informing the Nation” (1987.) 

As a customer service provider: while finishing college, he spent four years in the retail beverage industry, dealing directly with customers.

As a corporate manager, he was a successful manager with several firms, including:

• At Pacific Telephone, he managed groups of up to 150 people and was rated Outstanding among managers in Southern California.
• For Arcata Data Management, he took over a 100-person division known for significant monthly losses and late delivery penalties, taking it to profitability in less than six months.
• For Planning Research Corporation, he managed a staff of 100 contractor personnel in the computer center for the White House (EOPCC), taking the Award Fee contract from zero award to maximum in six months.

As a project manager, Barry successfully led and completed major projects.

• For the private sector: Pratt & Whitney Canada, Boeing Helicopter, Sikorsky Aviation, Ford Motor Company (through Tweddle Group,) World Book Encyclopedia, The Bureau of National Affairs.

• For the Federal government: Congressional Research Service (CRS), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), U. S. Office Management and Budget (OMB), Executive Office of the President (White House), Department of Defense (Army National Ground Intelligence Center (NGIC), Air Force Material Command, Naval Sea Systems Command.)

• For State Governments: Administrative Code systems for Texas and Oklahoma.

As an entrepreneur, he co-founded and led two successful firms including X.Systems, (founded in 1993 and acquired by XyEnterprise in 2009.) 

He is a graduate of California State University/Los Angeles with a BA in psychology, and of the rigorous Bell System Management Achievement Program.