It's a party! Please plan to join us on Saturday, April 18 from 6:00-10:00 p.m. for the High Country Hoedown at the DCSD Legacy Campus. Put on your Western gear and dance the night away to the band Red Mountain Highway. We are celebrating all educators and the youth-oriented projects of the Rotary Club of Parker.
Click here to view all the details and to purchase tickets.
Thank you to all who attended the 17th Annual Parker State of the Town event on Wednesday, February 25, 2026. The event featured an update on Parker by the Honorable Joshua Rivero, Mayor, as well as the awarding of the Parker Impact Award to T.J. Sullivan, President and CEO of the Parker Chamber of Commerce.
Thank you to the Parker community for supporting the food drives for the Parker Task Force on April 11! The Rotary Club of Parker was stationed at the Stroh Ranch King Soopers.
Thanks to the generosity of shoppers, we collected
111 boxes of items!
$526 in cash and gift cards
83 packages sliced cheese
63 pounds of chicken
71 cartons of eggs
55 gallons of milk
Through our connection to Rotary District 5630, active on the ground in the affected region, we learned that Hot Meals USA had established centralized food relief operations at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds in North Platte, coordinating meal preparation and distribution for evacuees and the firefighters battling the blaze. That Rotarian-to-Rotarian connection gave us the certainty to act fast and act right.
The Parker Rotary Foundation approved an Expanded Service Funding grant, and with additional member donations, our club raised and sent a total of $5,000 to Hot Meals USA. The funds were charged directly to the club credit card so the money was available without delay.
Brenda Cochran, Corporate Communications Director at Hot Meals USA, spoke to the value of the Rotary partnership:
"Hot Meals USA is pleased to regularly partner with Rotary Clubs when we deploy during times of disaster. The amount of volunteers that show up to help is amazing and we appreciate the support. Thank you to Rotary for partnering with Hot Meals USA, both with volunteers and financially, while we fed firefighters during the fires in West Central Nebraska in March. We appreciate the support and look forward to joining forces again."
This is what Parker Rotary looks like in practice: a global network that tells us where the need is greatest, members who respond with generosity, and a Foundation built to move quickly when it matters most.
Want to be part of what we do? Learn more about joining Parker Rotary.
We mourn the recent death of Robert “Doc” Martin, a founding member of the Rotary Club of Parker and the club's second president. Doc Martin was a member of the club from its founding in 1993 to his death. He served the community of Parker in countless ways, from his profession as a dentist to coaching to serving in Cub Scouts.
A service and celebration of life will be held on Saturday, April 11 at 2:00 PM at Joy Lutheran Church in Parker.
There is a lovely tribute to Doc on the web page of the Ponderosa Valley Funeral Services.
Thank you to all the Rotarians, friends and family who participated in the food drive for the Parker Task Force on Saturday, March 7. The Rotary Club of Parker was stationed at the Stroh Ranch King Soopers store. The photo above is of the first shift, which started when the temperature was still only 15°! Photos of the remaining three shifts appear below.
Thank you to the Parker community for your generosity. Here are some of the results from the Stroh Ranch King Soopers:
Rotary is an international organization, with opportunities to serve both locally and internationally. The Rotary Club of Parker participated in a service project in February that was both local AND international. One of our morning meetings was dedicated to a presentation of the Shark Pond program, where we viewed live online presentations by two entrepreneurs in Malawi.
Shark Pond is the inspiration of Ben Davidson of the Pocatello (ID) Rotary Club. Through local Rotary clubs in Africa, Shark Pond provides training in the skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur. Shark Pond then connects African entrepreneurs with Rotary clubs to provide the microloan. Each Shark Pond event includes two entrepreneurs making a live online pitch to a Rotary club. Below is the panel of judges from the Rotary Club of Parker who interacted in real time with the entrepreneurs from Malawi to ask about their businesses.
For more information on the Shark Pond program, check out their website at https://entrapov.com/. Ben Davidson received the Rotary Foundation's Meritorious Service Award in 2025.
Our club purchased 20 solar panels that are destined for Ukraine. A group of club members and their families then attached converters that accept USB plugs. The last step before shipping the panels off will be to invite club members and students from affiliated Rotary Interact clubs to decorate the back of the panels with messages of encouragement.
Testing the charger -- it works!
Parker Rotarians were well represented at the second annual Charity Pickleball Tournament, held on Saturday, January 31, 2026, an energetic and fast-growing event that brought Rotarians together from across the district for a day of friendly competition, connection, and service.
Fueling the day’s energy was Parker Rotarian Zoe Romero, owner of Cencalli Taqueria, who provided delicious food for all participants. Her contribution was a highlight of the event, keeping players well fed and reminding everyone that service takes many forms, both on and off the court.
Parker Rotarians Kevin Roth and Bob Forbes took to the courts as players, joining 28 teams from Rotary clubs throughout the district.
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