When Erin Huot joined the Bedford Rotary Club in March, she was looking for a way to help others and be more active in her community.

“I heard so many good things about the Rotary in town and I wanted to get involved and find a focus in life. The Rotary gave me that opportunity,” Huot said.

The Bedford native may just be the answer the Bedford Rotary is looking for as it reaches out to new members – young and middle-aged business professionals, as well as former members who have been away too long. Rotarian Dick Bellerose has been a member since 1976. As a former member of the Bow Rotary Club, Bellerose gained knowledge in building his business management skills.

“If you’re in business and you have a problem, someone here has solved that kind of problem and can guide you,” Bellerose said.

Huot also finds the club is ideal for networking.

“The Rotary gives me an opportunity to meet other people in the area,” said Huot, the membership director for the YMCA Allard Center in Goffstown. “There’s so many different people in different occupations, and I feel I can go to any one of them if I have a quesion with business or a life-experience question.”

Being a Bedford Rotary Club member is also a family affair. Families can help out at fundraisers, run the annual 5K and 12K road races, and learn about health and wellness at the club’s new Health Fair in May.

Huot’s son Aidan Santillan, 7, though too young to be a Rotarian, has served gelato at the club’s Pasta Night and Italian Festival in April. He will also stand alongside his mom bell ringing when the club raises money at the Salvation Army’s Christmas Kettle drive at Market Harvest this year.

Club members will be ringing bells for 35 days right after Thanksgiving. Last year, Bedford Rotary was awarded the top service club in the drive with a total of $9,700, said Bellerose. In June, the Bedford Rotary Club will celebrate its 40th year of serving community, both locally and globally.

Wherever you travel, there’s a Rotary Club to welcome you. With more than 33,000 clubs in 165 countries and 1.2 million members worldwide, Rotarians have a place to call home.

Club President Paul Bordeleau, who joined Rotary in 1973 when it was known as the West Manchester Rotary Club, often visits other clubs in his travels. “We have banners from all over the world,” Bordeleau said. “When we go to clubs, we bring a banner as a gift.”

Every Wednesday morning when members meet for breakfast at the Manchester Country Club, the Rotarian insignia and banners adorn the dining room, greeting members, their guests and a keynote speaker.

Bordeleau is also proud that Bedford has produced five district governors, a role he had served in 1984-85.

The club hosts many events, which they call FUN-raising, to provide college scholarships to high school seniors and other charitable causes. They also sponsor Boy Scout Troop 5 and the Special Olympics swim team meet each year. The club offers holiday cheer to the elderly at its annual luncheon, supports the library’s summer reading program and other activities. And, they provide support packages to soldiers serving in Iraq. But, it’s not all work. Rotarians meet once a week to laugh together and poke fun at each other.

“Everyone needs a little laughter in their life and we do a lot of it,” said Bill Gere, a member since 1986.

The Bedford Rotary Club meets Wednesdays from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m., at the Manchester Country Club, located on South River Road in Bedford. For more information, visit www.RotaryBedfordNH.com.