Home Page | Rotary Club of Boardman

Rotary is a global network of 1.2 million neighbors, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.

Solving real problems takes real commitment and vision. For more than 110 years, Rotary's people of action have used their passion, energy, and intelligence to take work on sustainable projects. From literacy and peace to water and health, we are always working to better our world, and we stay committed to the end.

Rotary members believe that we have a shared responsibility to take action on our world’s most persistent issues. Our 35,000+ clubs work together to:

Promote peace
Fight disease
Provide clean water, sanitation, and hygiene
Save mothers and children
Support education
Grow local economies

We provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through our fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders.

Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.

Locally, Boardman Rotary was established in 1955 by a group of business leaders in our community. We meet each Tuesday at noon in Boardman Park, and through monthly Board Meetings, conduct club business such as granting donations, voting in new members, and establishing or modifying procedures that keep our club vital and thriving. Members pay dues twice a year, and have attendance requirements that must be met.

In our weekly meetings we recite the Pledge of Allegiance, sing God Bless America, and pray. Fellowship, a good natured weekly roasting of our members is a part of each meeting. We discuss and vote on proposed members and donations, as well as club activities. A speaker is scheduled each week. Speakers we have had in the past include representatives from the Cleveland Indians, local authors, non-profit leaders, administration and professors from Youngstown State University, and community officials.

Rotarians live by the 4-Way Test. Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

Fellowship among Boardman Rotarians has been the key to our longevity as a club in our community. We truly enjoy working together and having fun together! Activities outside of our regular Tuesday meetings are what bind us as a club. Dinners together, attending plays and concerts, picnics, escape rooms, and wine trips are only some of the activities our members enjoy. Over the years, members have traveled together on cruises, or on mission trips to help others around the globe. We celebrate each others personal and professional accomplishments, and lift each other up during hard times. Boardman Rotary is a family!

Oktoberfest 2021

Oktoberfest is a one-day arts and crafts show. Along with arts and crafts, the event includes live performances at the Maag pavilion, food vendors, informational booths set up by community non-profits, a kids zone provided by the YMCA of Boardman, a midway performance by the Boardman Spartan Marching Band, and a few commercial vendors. The Oktoberfest opens at 9:00am and ends at 5:00pm. There is limited parking onsite, as well as offsite parking with bussing provided at Southwoods Commons on Southern Blvd., just 1/4 mile south of the Park. Admission is $5.00 per person. Children under 12 are free.

Over 10,000 people attend this event each year, and the proceeds support local non-profits and charities in the Valley. Boardman Rotary has been proud to provide this event for the community for over forty years. Applications and additional information is available on the Boardman Rotary Oktoberfest website.

Community Donations

Boardman Rotary uses the funds we earn through our two major fund raisers, the Boardman Rotary Oktoberfest and Pancake Breakfasts in the Park each year to financially support a number of community groups and non-profits. Boardman Schools, Easter Seals, Habitat for Humanity, Boy Scouts of America, Beatitude House, Boardman Community Baseball, Salvation Army, and the YWCA are only a handful of organizations that we have been able to support.

Local support is not always financial. Rotarians have cooked and served meals at the Salvation Army, volunteered to help on Habitat for Humanity builds, delivered baskets of food to local families in need, and helped to size children with, and distribute winter coats. One of our favorite activities is to pass out American flags to those attending the Memorial Day parade in Boardman.

Internationally, we have supported the building of wells, the distribution of books and computers, and have gifted wheelchairs to those in need. Rotarians have traveled to Mexico, Guatemala, Dominica and El Salvador to participate in hearing, dental and vision mission trips as well as trips to help to paint, repair, and build orphanages.

Each year, Boardman Rotary also financially supports a student in the Rotary Youth Exchange Program, giving an international high school junior or senior the opportunity to travel to the US, stay with a local host family, attend a local high school and learn about our culture for one year. Each year, our club has the opportunity to welcome all of the exchange students assigned to our district to an overnighter at Camp Stambaugh soon after they arrive in the US. We play lawn games, take them bowling, and have a campfire where we teach them to make an All-American favorite...s'mores.

Major Fundraisers

Each year, Boardman Rotary has two major fund raisers to support the work we do all year.

The first is the Oktoberfest. Held in Boardman Park on a Sunday each fall, this event is an outdoor arts and crafts show. Generally over 150 vendors fill the Park for this one day event, that over 10,000 people attend each year. Aside from traditional arts and crafts, the show includes vendors offering jewelry, baked goods, personal products, and clothing. We have a food court packed with everything from sausage sandwiches and fries to giant cinnamon rolls. Non-profits join in the fun with spaces that inform visitors how they work in the community, and the YMCA of Boardman provides a space for kids and adults to learn about having a good time while exercising. Live performances are held throughout the day at the Maag Pavilion in the Park, and The Boardman Spartan Marching Band comes each year to march down the midway. There is a moderate entrance fee, and all funds collected are used to help local non-profits.

Pancakes in the Park is an event that we hold in conjunction with Boardman Park's Maple Syrup festival in the early Spring each year. Rotarians prepare and serve pancakes and sausage to over 500 guests each day of the event, which takes place on both Saturday and Sunday mornings for two consecutive weekends. Tickets are sold by Rotarians, as well as at the door, and the funds are used to support Boardman Rotary projects throughout the year.