Lindsey Graves, Rotary President, and Stacy Rea Thomas, Past President, Soroptimist International of Lincoln 2024–2026 Coffee Conversation
For more than a century, the Rotary Club of Lincoln has been
part of the fabric of this community. Now, as the club looks toward what comes
next, President Lindsey Graves is asking members to think beyond the milestone.
Her theme is both a celebration and a challenge:
The Next 100 Starts Now
Honoring Our Legacy. Building Our Future.
For Graves, the next century of Rotary is not simply about
continuing what has always been done. It is about strengthening relationships,
creating meaningful opportunities for members to serve, and getting out into
the community to ask an important question:
How can we help?
“Community doesn’t happen automatically,” Graves said. “We
create it by showing up for each other.”
That philosophy reflects both her personal story and the
path that brought her to Rotary.
From Volunteer to President
Graves is a wife and mother of two, daughter Ava and son
Dillon, and has a professional background in project and program management.
Her husband, Josh, has been a Rotarian for 18 years and is now President Elect,
but Lindsey’s own path into Rotary developed through service.
She had already spent years volunteering, including work
supporting domestic violence programs and shelters. When she became involved
with Lincoln Rotary, she started where many volunteers do: she found a place
where she could help.
She worked on the club’s website. Then fundraising. Then
another opportunity came along.
And another.
Graves did not join Rotary intending to become its
president. Her leadership journey developed much more organically. She kept
saying yes. Yes to serving. Yes to taking responsibility. Yes to helping where
she was needed. And eventually, yes to leading.
What kept drawing her in was the welcoming feeling she found
within Rotary and the realization that the organization could turn a desire to
help into tangible action.
That might mean distributing food at The Salt Mine. It could
be placing a bicycle into the hands of a child, supporting Stand Up Placer, or
simply asking what other organization in the community needs Rotary’s help.
Graves remembers hearing one particular story that
transformed her passion for people into a desire for action. It reinforced
something she now brings to her presidency: caring about people matters, but
meaningful change happens when that caring moves us to do something.
Relationships Before Projects
Graves participated in the Leadership Lincoln Class of
2025–2026, an experience that reinforced for her the importance of
relationships in building a strong community.
That lesson now shapes one of her priorities for Rotary.
Get into the community. Build relationships. Listen. Then
determine how Rotary can help.
It is also reflected in another message guiding her
leadership:
Connecting Hearts. Igniting Change.
For Graves, those ideas belong together.
“We can create change,” she said. “We can truly ignite
change by connecting our hearts.”
And change, she believes, often begins with individual acts.
Hand a hot dog to a hungry child. Give a child a new
bicycle. Pack food for a family. Support another nonprofit doing important
work.
Those are the moments when Graves wants members to
understand the significance of belonging to Rotary.
This happened because I am a Rotarian.
Making Membership Meaningful
With approximately 70 members, Lincoln Rotary is a strong
club, but Graves is clear that the door is open. New members are welcome, and
building membership is an important part of preparing for the next 100 years.
Her goal, however, is not growth simply for the sake of
numbers.
She wants members to feel valued, connected and invested.
“When you belong to a service club, you want to know your
time and talents are making a meaningful contribution,” she explained.
One way Lincoln Rotary is doing that is by strengthening the
experience for new members. New Rotarians move through a mentor program as they
progress from a red badge to a blue badge. As part of that journey, members
learn about Rotary, become involved in service and begin developing what Graves
calls their own Rotarian story.
New members also have an opportunity to select a service
project they would like to see supported, giving them an early voice in how
Rotary makes an impact.
It is a deliberate approach designed to move people from
simply joining an organization to feeling that they belong to it.
A Different Kind of Rotary Meeting
That same philosophy is changing how members spend their
time together.
Rather than structuring every Thursday gathering in exactly
the same way, the club now creates different opportunities throughout the
month.
Two meetings each month feature speakers. The second
Thursday includes an evening mixer, creating a more social opportunity to build
relationships and hear from local voices. A fourth meeting may become a
business and committee work session or a hands on service day, such as working
on Rotary’s Adopt a Road commitment along Lincoln Boulevard.
The idea is straightforward: Rotary should not only talk
about service. Members should have opportunities to actually do it.
Membership dues support the administrative operation of the
club, while Rotary’s larger structure also provides opportunities to pursue
regional grants that can multiply the impact of local efforts.
Service From Lincoln to the World
The scope of Rotary service stretches from Lincoln
neighborhoods to communities around the world.
Locally, members support organizations and projects
addressing food insecurity, children, families and community needs. Through
World Community Service, Lincoln Rotary supports initiatives such as ShelterBox
and Rotary’s longstanding international effort to eradicate polio.
Youth are also an important part of the club’s future.
Interact programs at Lincoln High School and Twelve Bridges
High School give students opportunities to experience service and leadership
themselves. Graves hopes to strengthen connections between the high school
clubs as they help deliver One Day, 100 Ways, Rotary’s community wide service
effort in April.
The club’s major fundraising events also make much of that
service possible. Tour de Lincoln returns October 17, followed by Lincoln Wine
Fest on April 24.
Behind all of it is an organizational structure that keeps
service moving. Lincoln Rotary’s board includes leadership for fundraising and
community service, youth service, administrative services, world community
service, membership and the Rotary Foundation, along with the President,
President Elect and Past President.
Honoring the Past While Building What Comes Next
Lincoln Rotary’s history runs deep.
The club has met at the Woman’s Club of Lincoln throughout
its existence, a tradition connecting generations of Rotarians. Even Rotary’s
familiar wheel is rooted in its early connection to business and professional
life.
But Rotary itself has evolved.
Women began joining Rotary clubs in the United States in the
late 1980s, with Rotary International formally opening membership to women
worldwide in 1989. In Lincoln, Kris Wyatt became the club’s first female
president, helping pave the way for women like Graves to lead today.
That combination of history and evolution may be the best
way to understand Graves’ vision for the future.
The traditions matter. The history matters. But
organizations remain relevant when they continue asking what their communities
need now.
After 100 years, Lincoln Rotary is still asking that
question.
And under Lindsey Graves’ leadership, the answer begins not
with a fundraiser, a committee or even a project.
It begins with a relationship.
Show up. Listen. Connect. Find out where you can help. Then
do something.
Because, as Graves sees it, community is something we create
together.
One relationship. One bicycle. One meal. One project. One
act of service at a time.
The first 100 years created a legacy.
The Next 100 Starts Now.
//End
