Inspiration and Dedication
- Jessica Lee
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
Embrace Your Passion
On a crisp Tuesday morning, the Rotary Club of the Capital City gathered for its 7:30 a.m. meeting with a special sense of anticipation. Our guest was Rotary District 7710 Governor Lisa Higginbotham, a familiar name across our district for her energy, creativity, and deep commitment to Rotary’s mission of “Service Above Self.”
From the moment she began speaking, it was clear that her message could be summed up in two powerful words: inspiration and dedication.
Lisa Higginbotham brings to Rotary a rare blend of entrepreneurial spirit, professional excellence, and heartfelt service.
As the founder of FiveStar Awards & Engraving in Cary, NC, Lisa has built a nationally recognized company that specializes in meaningful recognition. Her shop is a licensed Rotary International vendor, and she likes to say of her “real” job:
“We get to play with cool toys and make pretty things!”
Behind that playful line is serious achievement. Lisa is a Certified Recognition Master (CRM), a designation held by fewer than 100 people worldwide. She has served as President of the Awards and Personalization Association, and in 2023 she received the prestigious Founder’s Award Gold Obelisk in Las Vegas, one of many honors she has earned in her industry and community.
As a dedicated Rotarian and member of the Cary-Kildaire Rotary Club, she has held numerous leadership roles across District 7710. Her guiding message, “Embrace Your Passion,” reflects her belief that the most powerful service happens when we align our talents and our hearts with Rotary’s mission.
Lisa opened by honoring the Rotary Club of the Capital City’s long history of service and the inspiration our club has provided across the district and region. She acknowledged our reputation for dedication, then challenged us to continue leading, innovating, and embracing the future of Rotary.
A Bright Future: New Goals, Programs, and Initiatives
From there, Lisa shifted our focus from what we have done to what we can do next.
She reminded us that Rotary International has reaffirmed and refreshed its strategic focus around four high-level priorities:
Increase our impact, doing more good, more deeply, with measurable results.
Expand our reach, growing and diversifying membership, participation, and public awareness.
Enhance participant engagement, so members and friends of Rotary find real value, connection, and leadership development.
Increase our ability to adapt, building flexibility, innovation, and streamlined processes that allow clubs to respond to a changing world.
In short, Rotary is moving toward being more agile, more member-centered, and more impact-oriented.
Lisa connected these priorities to several emerging programs and initiatives, including:
Rolling 3-Year Goals: Clubs are now encouraged to set goals on a three-year rolling horizon instead of only planning one year at a time. This creates continuity and momentum across changing leadership teams.
Programs of Scale: Rotary is leaning into larger, higher-impact projects and grants that can transform communities and regions, not just single streets or neighborhoods.
Peacebuilding and the “Unite for Good” Theme: With the global theme “Unite for Good” for 2025–26, Rotary is highlighting collaboration, peace, and social cohesion, including new peace centers and initiatives around conflict resolution.
Action Plan Toolkits: Clubs and districts are being asked to use Rotary’s Action Plan and Strategic Planning Guides as living tools to align their work, measure outcomes, and strengthen operations.
As she spoke, it was easy to picture how these ideas could come to life in our own club. Lisa did not present them as abstract policies from “headquarters,” but as practical tools that Rotary Club of the Capital City can use to shape our next chapter of service.
A Club Ready To Lead
Lisa’s remarks were not only about the future. She took time to honor who we already are.
She acknowledged the Rotary Club of the Capital City for many years of hands-on service, leadership in district initiatives, and consistent support of Rotary’s core causes, such as polio eradication, education, clean water, and community development.
Then she offered a challenge wrapped in encouragement: we are not a club that clings to the past. We are a club that remembers our core principles and embraces the latest tools, goals, and processes that make Rotary stronger.
Her message was clear:
Keep our core values front and center: Service Above Self, integrity, fellowship, and peace.
Lean into multi-year planning, so the projects we start today continue to grow over the next three years and beyond.
Use tools like Club Central to set, track, and celebrate meaningful goals.
Stay flexible and innovative, making sure our governance and meeting formats serve today’s members and future Rotarians.
By the end of her talk, it was evident that our club is not only proud of its history, but also ready to lead the way in adopting Rotary’s newest strategies and programs. The board left the meeting already buzzing with ideas about new initiatives to engage members, serve the community, and align more deeply with Rotary’s global vision.
Why We Do What We Do
Beneath all the strategic plans, toolkits, and three-year goals lies a simple truth: this work is about people. It is about the child who drinks clean water for the first time. It is about the neighbor who receives a meal and a smile when life feels overwhelming. It is about the student who discovers a mentor, the veteran who feels seen and valued, and the family that finds hope after disaster.
Lisa reminded us that our projects are not spreadsheets or banners. They are acts of love, compassion, and courage in a world that needs them.
The Rotary Club of the Capital City does what it does because we believe that:
Peace is possible, starting with kindness across our own tables.
Service changes both the giver and the receiver.
Community matters, and that neighbors stepping up for each other can transform a city.
When people embrace their passion and connect it to Rotary’s mission, extraordinary things happen.
As Lisa spoke, many of us felt that familiar warmth of being part of something larger than ourselves. Her message rekindled our spark and reminded us not only what we do, but why we do it. The room felt united and hopeful, ready to help shape the future of our community together.
Do You Want To Join Us?
If you are reading this and wondering what kind of people show up for a meeting at 7:30 a.m., here is the honest answer:
We are early-morning coffee drinkers. We are doers and dreamers. We are professionals, retirees, parents, neighbors, Duke fans and yes, even a few who dare to cheer for other teams. Mostly, we are people who believe that doing good in the world should also come with laughter, friendship, and a sense of purpose.
When Lisa Higginbotham visited, she did more than share a message. She reminded us how fun, energizing, and inspiring it can be to gather with people who care sincerely about their community and the world.
We invite you to:
come to our morning meetings.
Enjoy a cup of hot coffee, a warm welcome, and a room full of people who are serious about service and not too serious about themselves.
Hear stories of impact, learn about new projects, and discover how your own passion and talents might fit into Rotary’s global mission.
Come as a guest, leave as a friend, and maybe, just maybe, discover that you were meant to help us “Unite for Good”. There is always room at the table for one more person who wants to make a difference. We hope that person might be you.
