Frank Donahoe, a long-time member of the Murrieta Rotary Club, was named Rotarian of the Year for 2018-2019. This honor is bestowed every year by the president of the club to a most deserving Rotarian.
According to then-president Jann Gentry, she chose Donahoe for the award because of his unflagging dedication to promoting the club in the community and for achieving the highest number of club members in the 27-year history of the club. Membership during this year, and under the direction of Membership co-Chair Donahoe, increased by 33 percent to a high of 57 members.
One technique Donahoe used for the increase was to institute an evening meeting time option for the club. All club members and prospective members were invited to consider the evening meeting time—6:00 p.m. on Mondays—as an option to the traditional Monday noon lunch meeting. Many prospective members (and some current members) chose the evening option because it is sometimes easier for them to attend at that time than to break up the middle of their day.
Donahoe also represented the Murrieta Rotary Club at most Murrieta/Wildomar Chamber of Commerce events, staffed a Rotary table at mixers and was the friendly face of the club. He started asking for ambassadors to join him in these endeavors and many club members did; he, however, was the constant in this equation that made the concept work, according to Gentry.
At the beginning of the fiscal year, Donahoe acted as a guide and mentor to the incoming president, encouraging Gentry to have goals and plans to make the 2018-2019 year a success. He assisted her in holding strategic planning sessions, and in implementing the steps to reach those goals.
Beyond those duties, Donahoe took on the role of Sponsorship Chair for the Murrieta Rotary’s Field of Honor. He was instrumental in kicking off the fundraising for the annual event held in November. In the first two weeks, members raised $17,000 towards the $80,000 goal.
Murrieta Rotary Club is a civic organization whose motto is, “Service Above Self.” Gentry noted that Donahoe aptly fulfilled this motto to its utmost.