Q & A: Oak Park-River Forest Rotary Club President Scott McAdam

On June 30th, Scott McAdam will conclude his one-year tenure as president of the Oak Park-River Forest Rotary Club.

Rotary International, through its chapters all around the globe, has had a profoundly positive impact on countless individuals. For example, the organization began its fight against polio in 1979 with a project to immunize 6 million children in the Philippines. By 2012, according to Rotary, only three countries remained polio-endemic—down from 125 in 1988.

On a personal front, McAdam, a River Forest native, became a Rotarian in 1995 upon the invitation of a friend, Art Replogle. Professionally, McAdam is president of McAdam Landscaping, a Forest Park-based company that he founded with his brother, Rob, in 1979.

Q: What has kept you involved for so many years? 

A: The mission and goal—it is an organization that has a tremendous impact in the community and in communities around the world. I appreciate the very focused approach that Rotary takes, and it’s great to be around so many people of high integrity.

Q: What has the club accomplished in the past year during your term as President?

A: We had our first signature fundraiser, the Festival of Trees, which raised awareness and funds for many excellent organizations in the community. We went through a strategic planning process and also visioning for the first time in order for us to set our short- and long-term goals. 

We also started an Interact club for youths, ages 13 to 18, and we are starting a Satellite club geared toward younger and other professionals who cannot make a meeting during lunch time and find it difficult to meet weekly. The meetings will be at Healy’s Westside on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month at 6 p.m.

Another development I am excited about is a mentoring program that we are about to launch. It will match high school-aged youth with business professionals who can help mentor them in their career choices.

Q: What are some goals that the club is aiming to achieve in the near future? 

A: The club has a goal to increase our “engaged” membership to 125 people. We are trying to make the Festival of Trees even more successful so that the community can embrace and support it more fully. That will generate more funds for local as well as international projects.

To learn more about Rotary International, visit https://www.rotary.org/. The Oak Park-River Forest chapter of Rotary is at http://oprfrotary.clubexpress.com/