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The Rotary Club of Morristown added two members to its ranks during Wednesday’s noon meeting at The Country Club.

Tyler Brock, sponsored by Rotarian Drew Rowe, and Aletheia Davidson, sponsored by Rotarian L.A. Orio, were accepted into the club.

Orio got started into Rotary when she bought a home from a fellow Rotarian when she moved to Morristown.

“The first thing she did at closing was she said that she’d love to have me come to Rotary,” Orio said. “And that’s what I did. I’ve loved being part of Rotary. I loved that someone who knew me invited me to something that fit me so well.

Orio was honored to have Davidson join Rotary.

“I know very few people that was raised in their daily life without being part of the club, our four-way test,” Orio said. “Aletheia speaks the four-way test. She is a beautiful human being and I just cannot tell you how much I love her spirit and approach. I feel like she will be somebody that every committee will want her to be a part of.”

Brock introduced himself to the club membership.

“I’m a residential mortgage lender with Mortgage Investors Group in Morristown,” Brock said. “I’ve been born and raised in Morristown. Really, most of my family lives around here. Most of my family was in real estate, that’s how I got involved in the mortgage business. Family is really big for me so we spend a lot of time together.”

Past Assistant Governor and Special Advisor Don Baldus discussed the organization that Brock and Davidson are joining.

“In 1905, in Chicago, a young attorney named Paul Harris wanted to get together for lunch and conversation with three of his professional friends. They met and decided to meet weekly, rotating to each other’s office, hence the name ‘Rotary,’” Baldus said. “At one of their first meetings, they discussed undertaking a project to make life better in Chicagoland. As a result, that first project was to install a privy near their offices and with that project, the vision of the Rotary Foundation was born.”

Baldus told the members that they stand on special ground.

“While Rotary is 118 years old, Rotary International has its first woman president, Rotarian Jennifer Jones from Canada. You are part of that first,” he said.

The Morristown Rotary Club celebrated its 100th anniversary this past year at its Margaritaville fun fest. Speaker of that event was John Germ, a member of the Rotary Club of Chattanooga. Rotary International is the world’s largest civic organization with more than 1.2 million professional men and women, with more than 35,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries.

“By joining Rotary, you are becoming a part of this worldwide fraternity,” Baldus said. “Rotary will change your life, as it will put you into contact with people not only in our community, but worldwide, no matter where you are. No two Rotary Clubs are alike, however, we are all Rotarians.”

Baldus said that one can travel throughout the world and find a Rotary Club within easy distance.

“When you visit other Rotary Clubs, Rotarians will welcome you warmly, even though their language may be different, the food unusual and the location far from home,” he said. “When you are absent, I encourage you to make up at any Rotary Club and enjoy their fellowship. You may even make up online. We also stream our meetings weekly on Zoom.”

Baldus said that both new members have a lot to learn about Rotary.

“It’s not just another club,” he said. “It’s a way of life. You are elected to membership because we feel you will fit into this Rotary way of life. I charge you to judge yourself by the Rotary Four-Way Test, with which we close every meeting.”

He reminded the new members of Rotary’s motto, “Service Above Self.”

“Rotary is like everything else, you get out of it what you put into it,” Baldus said.