DOWAGIAC — The Dowagiac Rotary Club has been on the hunt for a new president to take over the club after current president Melody Wallace’s term ends at the June 20 Rotary meeting.

The new person holding the mallet could be the Dowagiac Rotary Club’s current treasurer, Bob Cochrane, who announced at a meeting on Thursday that he shared with Wallace he wanted to accept the position. Before anything is finalized, Cochrane must be voted into the position by the club.

Wallace said that the vote could take place in two to three weeks.

The announcement came after the meeting focused on the Dowagiac Rotary Club’s annual financial report. As treasurer, Cochrane compiles the Rotary Club’s monthly income and expenses. He also keeps records of the club’s various assets.

Despite the meeting being financially focused, a high number of Rotarians showed up to the meeting to learn more about where their annual dues go.

Following the last 10 minutes of the meeting, Cochrane shared with the club his intention to be president.

“The last three meetings of the strategic planning, SWOT analysis, I think is going to identify some good direction for us, some things to be working toward,” Cochrane said. “We are going to take what we learned from that and incorporate that moving forward and build on that.”

Cochrane, who would take over in July, would want to continue to build off the items discussed in fellow Rotarian Kellee Miller’s two-part workshop on the club’s strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities.

Cochrane said he has also enjoyed working alongside Wallace.

“She started out saying, ‘We have these five service areas of Rotary. We are going to do something in those,’” he said. “Every board meeting we have, we go down that list and say what we are doing. It has really helped to keep us focused on what we are trying to accomplish.”

Wallace said the club is also looking for more members to serve on its board of directors.

Ideally, the Rotary Club would like one chairperson to represent each of the core values of leadership, service, fellowship, diversity and integrity. The Dowagiac Rotary Club also wants to have a chairperson specifically devoted to its membership efforts.

Wallace said, ideally, the positions on the board of directors are elected during the regular election cycle. Currently, the board has several Rotarians who are members at large.

Wallace said she had enjoyed her role as president so far, but only sees herself in the position for this one term. 

“I feel like I’ve been able to give energy to the club,” she said. “I really have encouraged more people to be on the board.”

With time still left on her term, Wallace plans to continue working towards her goals detailed last year, which include establishing a Rotaract Club at Southwestern Michigan College and highlighting the club’s leadership and service.