The Rotary Club of Wallowa County has a new president. On July 1, Kathleen Negus of Wallowa received the gavel from outgoing club president Steve Kliewer at the club’s annual installation banquet at Cloverleaf Hall.

In the transfer of leadership of the local Rotary Club, Kliewer reflected upon some of the accomplishments of the club for the past year.

They included landscaping cleanup at the River Street House in Enterprise, which has been acquired by the Wallowa Center for Wellness; hosting an exchange student from Japan; and conducting a group study exchange with Rotary clubs in Australia. The group exchange culminated with the visit of a five-person Australian team to Wallowa County in early May.

Negus, owner and agent of Bennett Insurance agency, outlined her planned projects for the next year, which include partnering with schools and teachers for an educational project and providing funding for the construction of a “Rotary meditation garden” for patients and visitors at the new Wallowa Memorial Hospital.

Her enthusiasm is quite apparent as she talks about Rotary helping in the community with two of her favorite subject areas, education and health care.

Rotary will also host another inbound exchange student, a high school student from Thailand. She arrives in late August, in time to attend Enterprise High School for the school year.