Clarke is a senior investment advisor with Manulife Securities and has been a member of Rotary for nearly 30 years. He has served as President of (the former) Rotary Club of Halifax Harbourside twice and has held many other leadership roles within the Rotary movement.
He’s also a long-time rally car enthusiast!
“What I like about Rotary is the friendships, the involvement. I get involved on the fundraising side, I lend my hand in all aspects that are needed for our Club. I turn my office into a space to make sandwiches for the kids in the lunch program at Joseph Howe Elementary School.
“I like to bring in new members to the Club. About ten years after being in Rotary, I did a self-assessment and realized I wasn’t really a Rotarian because I wasn’t bringing in new members. So I decided I better become a Rotarian and start inviting people to join Rotary.
“I like the knowledge of being able to reach out to members of the Club and know they will stand and commit to a project and we can go forward and get ‘er done. I just ask directly, and we go about getting ‘er done.
“I’m a strong believer in new blood, and our Club has a strong group of younger members. I like the fact we have the ability to bring in younger people. What’s their passion? How can we maintain that passion and get them involved in a new project? Not to fit them into something we are already doing. We are open-minded enough to do that.
“Our Club has a 50-50 split amongst male and female members. I think our Club has been really open and inviting to members of the LGBTQ+ community. It’s about opening doors and being inclusive. You don’t want prospective members to walk in and think ‘I don’t see anyone in my peer group here.’ It’d be pretty easy for them to not come back.
“I really like the fact that if I walk in any town I can find a Rotary Club, and find a Rotary member I can be friends with within 5 minutes of entering the room. It’s a way to find a whole lot of new people.”
