2024 Distinguished Person of the Year Celebration to honor Allen VanNoppen and his contributions to the Morganton and Burke County community will be held on May 1, 2025, at the Burke Arts Council. The celebration will include heavy hors d’oeuvres prepared by Chef Laura Hicks of Queens Catering and a cash bar will be available service beer and wine. Tickets for the event are $30 each and can be purchased at Mimosa Insurance Agency, 207 N. Sterling Street, or at Thornwell Books, 202 S. Sterling Street or by calling Rotary Club of Morganton Secretary, Deb Jones, at 315-601-5357. See our separate news story HERE for more details on Allen VanNoppen’s selection as the 2024 Distinguished Person of the Year

Rotary Club of Morganton will be holding their annual Pancake Breakfast & Silent Auction at the Morganton Community House on April 12, 2025, 8:00 am until Noon. In addition to a full breakfast menu of pancakes with a topping bar, eggs, sausage, coffee and juice, this year we will have Mimosas available for purchase brought to you with support of Mimosa Insurance Agency.

There will be a silent auction for multiple items donated by local businesses and organizations as well as a KidZone featuring a special appearance by the Easter Bunny! Entertainment will once again be provided by The Morganton Ukulele Society - a big hit from the Pancake Breakfast last year.

Tickets will be $9.00 each and can be purchased in advance from any member of the Rotary Club of Morganton or can be purchased at the door the day of the event. Mimosas will be available for purchase separately at the event (with presentation of a valid ID, of course!).

Rotary Club of Morganton is proud to once again partner with the American Red Cross to host a Blood Drive at the Morganton Community House on February 1, 2025, 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM. Please join us in giving the gift of life. Sign up for your appointment today at https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/donation-time?zipSponsor=28655 or use the American Red Cross Blood Donor app.

Rotary Club of Morganton, Rotary Club of Valdese and Burke Sunrise Rotary will host a Pints for Polio event at Sidetracked Brewery (3:00 PM -10:00 PM) and Fonta Flora Brewery (5:00 PM - 8:00 PM). Polio is a virus that can cause trouble breathing, paralysis and death - mostly in children and Rotary International is a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative which has reduced polio cases by 99% worldwide since 1979, but polio hasn’t been eradicated. If immunizations stop now, in 10 years, polio could paralyze 200,000 children annually. Join us at one of these locations to help us wipe out this horrible disease - $1 from every beverage will be donated to helping eradicate polio.

Rotary Club of Morganton will participate in a Habitat for Humanity work day on Saturday, July 27. Partnering with Habitat for Humanity of Burke County, the Club will start at 8:00 AM to work on a local construction project to support HFH’s vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live.

In conjunction with Rotary Environment Month in April, The Rotary Club of Morganton is holding a Community Clean Up Day to help clean up a section of the Catawba River Greenway near the Greenlee Ford Access Area.

The American Red Cross is experiencing severe blood supply shortages. Please join us to donate and save lives. Please use the American Red Cross app or go to www.redcrossblood.org to sign up and schedule your appointment or contact Kim Van Sickler at 704-953-1560.

The fifth Wednesday of the month is an after-hours event where we gather with significant others and invite those interested in our club to join us. Lately we’ve been meeting at the Burke Arts Council, thanks to the generosity of Rotarian Deborah Jones, Rotary Club Member (and Secretary) and Executive Director of the Arts Council. If we’re lucky, fellow Rotarian Dalton Walters MCs a friendly, yet competitive, game of Kahoot (trivia game accessed through a phone mobile app.)