Rotary Club of Powell River marks 70 years of service in 2025

The Rotary Club of Powell River received its charter in 1955 and will mark its 70th anniversary on June 14. It is one of more than 35,000 clubs and 1.9 million members around the world. It also sponsors Brooks Interact Club, Rotary in high schools, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2024.

As part of Rotary Awareness Month, one of the club’s past presidents, Virendra Varma, aged 98, talked about his Rotary experience.

Virendra kept seeing Rotary signs at different places in his life. He was born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to parents from India and journeyed to England for his dental training.

“There was an International House in Newcastle where we students were welcomed with so much warmth,” said Virendra, who recalls seeing a Rotary sign there.

Once when he was travelling on the underground in London, he saw a man sitting across from him wearing a Rotary pin. They struck up a conversation and Virendra was invited to his home for a visit.

After completing his training, Virendra began his dental practice back in Dar es Salaam.

He joined the New Africa Rotary Club where he was among four or five Asian members and one minor African chief. The rest were European. His son Ash remembers going to lunch meetings twice when he was about five or six.

Virendra’s practice included dental work for the American, Egyptian and German ambassadors as well as the Canadian high commissioner.

“Actually, most of the ambassadors were my patients,” said Virendra.

When it became politically uncomfortable to remain in the country, he began looking for a new home. He had an English solicitor patient who advised him not to go to Canada, saying he had a grapefruit in his car that froze in the cold weather.

However, there was a Canadian family from Edmonton which did recommend immigrating there. So Virendra sent his family to stay with relatives in India and made his way to Canada where he, like all internationally trained dentists, had to write the British Columbia board exams of the day.

He visited the Vancouver Rotary Club, where he sat beside Bruce Sinclair, founder of Sinclair Dental, and they began a relationship that continued until he died last year. Bruce’s wife knew about Powell River and suggested that as a possible location for a new practice.

“I grew up by the Indian Ocean with Mount Kilimanjaro behind me, so I was happy to be beside the ocean again.”

Virendra arrived in Powell River and stayed at Cooks Motel on Alberni Street so he could walk to the dental clinic where he started with 15 patients. Today both his son and grandson Milan provide dental services to patients.

Prior to his family arriving, Virendra decided he needed to purchase a car, so he went into the GM dealership owned by Earl Jacobsen, known as Brick. There on the wall was a Rotary sign indicating he was a member.

“He ended up providing me with a car and not charging me.”

Virendra joined what was called at that time the Westview Rotary Club in 1967 and served as president for 1972/1973. Ash, who attended many club functions with his father, joined Rotary in 1986 and continues to be a member of the club. He served as president in 1990/1991.

Bud Vogl was president when Virendra joined, and he fondly remembers the many steak feeds club members enjoyed. Virendra recalls always having a project on the go with many work parties.

Rotary started the popular summer event Sea Fair which ran for 50 years. Rotarians raffled off a boatload of groceries, held a beer gardens, served an early morning pancake breakfast and conducted a paper-packing contest where entrants carried a roll of newsprint along a route on Willingdon Avenue near the ferry terminal.

Another popular part of Sea Fair was the visit of naval ships and the program “Bring A Sailor Home for Dinner.”

They also created a parade float with the characters of Popeye and friends Olive Oyl, Wimpy and Brutus, that appeared locally and as far away as the Rose Bowl Parade in California.

Asked what Rotary had done for him, Virendra responded, “nothing but help and I did that in return.”

Virendra’s experience is that “Rotary brings strangers together and brings people closer in understanding.”

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