While their length of membership is vastly different, Rancho Bernardo’s two new Rotary presidents have something in common — both were invited to join by a friend.

The first-time presidents — Mike Moffat for the Rancho Bernardo Sunrise Rotary Club and Doug Dawson for the Rotary Club of Rancho Bernardo — began their yearlong terms on July 1.

Moffat said he became a Rotarian 30 years ago at the urging of the late Lew Gary, about six months after the club formed. “He invited me to my first Rotary meeting and I was super impressed,” Moffat said. “It was what I was looking for. The people were neat and my assessment has not changed.”

The “quality of the people” is what Moffat said has kept him in the organization for the past three decades. He said they span in age from 26 to 81, but one “can’t tell the difference” due to the amount of fun they all have while working “extremely hard” on projects. “We do not take ourselves too seriously.”

The retired Navy commander — he served 23 years as a surface warfare officer — moved to Rancho Bernardo about five years before becoming a Rotarian. Moffat said he was looking to meet people beyond his neighbors while starting his second career by founding The Moffat Group. It is part of the fire protection industry and based in Rancho Bernardo.

Dawson became a Rotarian 2 1/2 years ago after moving to Rancho Bernardo from the Bay Area. He joined the Rotary Club of Rancho Bernardo due to his friend of 40 years, Don Glover, who had been encouraging him not only to become a Rotarian, but move to RB after retiring from the package manufacturing industry.

“I viewed it as an opportunity to do three things — meet lots of people, find ways to serve in the community and ... give money philanthropically,” Dawson said.

Moffat said he had resisted serving as president of the 62 Sunrise Rotarians for many years, but a Red, White and Blue hike for veterans with former Rotary District Governor Carl Kruse a couple years ago changed that. “He was very persuasive,” Moffat recalled. “By mile three of five he had me.”

As for why Dawson said he felt ready to lead the 65 RB Rotarians despite limited time in the organization, that was due to his professional background.

“I used to run a large manufacturing facility, so I’m used to (leading) a lot of people in an organizational situation,” he said, adding that his skills and experiences is what his fellow club members were looking for in their next leader.

“My goal is to let the club members do what they do best ... and have a little fun while doing it,” Moffat said. Though he plans to “enhance” the club’s current endeavors, Moffat said he does not anticipate making many changes. “I like what we do and where we are, and am a member for that reason,” he said. “We like to get things done with a remarkable resiliency. The quality of our club is unmatched (in terms of) leaders in Rancho Bernardo and North County.”

The Sunrise Rotarians’ annual projects include building houses in Mexico and supporting Fresh Start surgical grants, an orphanage in South Africa, the 1,000 Smiles program (it provides dental work), The Elizabeth Hospice, Toby Wells Foundation and Marine Corps Reserve’s Toys for Tots. During the recent Rotarians at Work Day the club led an effort to relandscape an 800-foot long slope in Poway High’s stadium, which included planting 80 trees plus other plants.

Moffat said his favorite project is the club’s major fundraiser, the Rancho BEERnardo Festival. It is returning for its seventh year from 2 to 5 p.m. on Oct. 20 to Webb Park. “It promises to be a banner year, with 20 percent more beer stations plus wine and two times as much food,” he said.

Dawson said he has several goals for the club. They include filling community needs by getting involved in various activities, such as their participation in this month’s Spirit of the Fourth festivities. Also, increase membership, not only by recruiting younger members, but more women. The latter represent 30 to 35 percent of the membership. Expanding the club’s charitable component is also important, he said. It spent around $50,000 on 25 projects and causes last year and he wants them to contribute more this year.

While the club has many internal fundraisers, Dawson said it is going to raise money by co-hosting a new community event with the Rancho Bernardo Historical Society. Vines and Vittles will debut on July 14, 2019 in Webb Park as a western-themed family event.

“It will be a big festival, with restaurants, beer, wine and a corral for kids’ games,” he said. Other attractions will include a costume contest, ventriloquist, “Ladies of the West” 1880s costumed photo opportunity and cultural exhibit to recognize the community’s history. This will include the historical society’s mud wagon and Kumeyaay display.

“It will have a much broader scope than a beer drinking festival,” Dawson said, adding they are hoping to attract between 500 and 1,000 attendees to the inaugural event. While both organizations have held large-scale fundraisers in the past, he said they can do more by joining forces. “They need people and we need expertise, so why not work together?”

While service and fundraising is important, Dawson said a crucial goal for him is that the Rotarians have fun together. One of his favorite activities was Rotarians at Work Day when one of their projects involved a few of them putting their carpentry skills to use by replacing doors on a storage shed at the Ed Brown Center for Active Adults.

He also mentioned the trip 32 members took to attend Rotary International’s convention in Toronto. A side trip to Niagara Falls that resulted in all of them getting soaked was “so much fun,” he said. When looking back at the photos, Dawson said, “I liked their happy faces, their expressions. What a thrill to do something together. We had a fabulous time.”

The Rancho Bernardo Sunrise Rotary Club meets each Tuesday at 7 a.m. for breakfast in the Country Club of Rancho Bernardo. Annual dues are $130 plus a $18 fee for each breakfast. For details, go to rbsunrise.org or call Membership Chairwoman Mary Stanton at 858-675-9243.

The Rotary Club of Rancho Bernardo meets at the Bernardo Heights Country Club each Thursday for lunch meetings from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., except on the second Thursday when a 5 to 7 p.m. dinner meeting is held. Annual dues are $250 for an individual or $450 for a dual membership (for families or companies that want two memberships). There is also a $22 fee per lunch or dinner. For details, go to rbrotary.org or contact Membership Chairman Dick Norfolk at 858-248-6453 or rtnorfolk@san.rr.com.