The Portage Rotary Club's year has come to an end, and that means they have a new person at the helm.

Yesterday's weekly Rotary luncheon at the Canad Inns saw a changeover in their executive, including the naming of a new president. Cathie McFarlane will serve for the next year. McFarlane says she's been with the organization for about three years, and has really enjoyed her work with the club. While she's a fresher face at Rotary, she notes she has always enjoyed taking on leadership roles. She notes while they're working to continue past events, and create new opportunities, she also joins at a time when they're setting the direction for the future of Rotary in Portage.

"I'm looking forward to doing a lot of the great things our Rotary Club does now. We have some new things planned. We recognize we have a number of new members, and we're going to be doing some educational sessions the last Tuesday of every month. We are, as I said in my speech, going to roll out our strategic plan for the next five years, plus our business plan for the next year."

McFarlane takes over the role from Shannon Moffat, who's now serving the past-president's role. Moffat describes her experience with the club as exceptional, noting she worked to put her own flair on the club, by implementing small tweaks to the way they hold their meetings. She says while it's been great working with a number of community groups, and on a number of events, the real highlight of her time as president has been working with her fellow Rotarians.

"The members are what make everything within this club. It's the fundraising, it's the community events, it's the involvement in how we give back to the community, it's all the members. For me, it's the fellowship and camaraderie and the get-together that everyone has, they're all willing to help each other out."

She says she's looking forward to being active in her new role as past-president, as well as a Rotary member.