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Photo submitted by Doug Thompson – Reagan Blackmer, right, hands Colton Jenkins his certificate Thursday during the Interact induction ceremony at Q.I. Roberts Junior-Senior High School in Florahome.
Dozens of students were honored this week for joining a group meant to set them on a path of service to their community.
On Thursday, Q.I. Roberts Junior-Senior High School in Florahome was the site of an induction ceremony for its Interact club. Seventy students, some of whom were absent Thursday, were inducted into the club, which is the youth iteration of Rotary International.
Brenda Bridges, the Interact liaison of the Rotary Club of Palatka Sunrise, said she was pleasantly surprised at what is likely a history-making number of students joining Interact.
“To my knowledge, it was the largest induction of Interacters at one time,” said Bridges, whose Rotary group sponsors the Q.I. Roberts Interact club. “I was shocked but, I guess, overwhelmed with joy with such a positive for our community, to see so many people wanting to make a difference in the world.”
During Thursday’s ceremony, Rotary officials drove home how Interact is a precursor to Rotary, even down to the latter’s basic principle and motto: “Service Above Self.” Inductees were then given a certificate and a pin that displays the Rotary wheel.
Bridges said the logo is symbolic, with the inner keyway representing individuals and the outer cog representing civilization, movement and people working together.
Q.I. Roberts student Reagan Blackmer, who serves as Interact’s lieutenant governor at the district level, was also recognized Thursday with the Advisor’s Award and the Above and Beyond Pin.
Through Interact, Bridges said, students will volunteer, host events and work closely with Rotary Sunrise to learn the benefits of giving back to the community that has nurtured them.
“It’s about trying to get young people to understand service at an early age,” she said.
The induction brings Q.I. Roberts’ Interact club to nearly 95 members, Bridges said. Interact and Rotary members work with each other throughout the school year, with members of each group attending some of the other group’s meetings and events.
Bridges said her club will be hosting a big game feast at the Putnam County Fair in March, and Interact members will help set up for the event and clean up after it’s over. Interact members have also helped Rotary with its pickleball tournament, which takes place on the first Saturday and Sunday in March every year at Palatka Junior-Senior High School.
Instead of merely helping this year, she said, Interact students will work with Palatka High to host the event. Doing so will give students experience with event management, volunteering and, of course, service, Bridges said.
“Obviously, this is starting what we’d like to see: a leadership role,” she said.
Bridges would love to see students take what they learn in Interact and apply it to whatever they do after high school. It’s her desire to see many of these students join Rotary clubs when they’re adults so they can further their mission of Service Above Self.
Interact inductees were excited about joining and have been looking forward to volunteering, Bridges said, because it gives them a larger view of the world.
“They truly understand serving their community,” she said. “They’re thrilled to be a part of something beyond their (doorstep), their school.”
