TORRINGTON – Of the 53 Rotary clubs District Gov. Chuck Rutenberg leads in Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho and Nebraska, he made it a point to visit Torrington’s chapter Monday and discuss literacy and membership with Rotarians here.

Rutenberg announced, in lieu of holding a fall assembly this year, the Rotary will host a one-day symposium on literacy in Cheyenne on Oct. 6. He also said the district has 15, $1,000 grants set aside to promote literacy across the region.

“One of the things I’ve learned … there are 30 million functionality illiterate adults in the U.S.,” Rutenberg said. “I was surprised to find out it’s really everywhere.”

He presented a short video from the Barbara Bush Literacy Foundation at the weekly meeting at Cottonwood Country Club on Monday, which depicted a mother and her young daughter struggling with illiteracy.

“When we tend to focus on literacy, we focus on the early grades,” Rutenberg said. “What happens to the kids that slip through?” 

He added a large percentage end up in the prison system or on welfare.

“I think this is a huge, huge opportunity for Rotary.”

Rutenberg listed membership as Rotary’s second priority, emphasizing the importance of focusing on the experience new Rotarians have at club meetings, social activities, and more.

“If we get that right, (I) don’t think happy and involved Rotarians leave Rotary,” he said.

Rutenberg plans to start a Passport Club in the district designed to include people who can commit to hours of service throughout the year, rather than attend weekly meetings.

“I would suggest to you, you continue to step outside your club,” Rutenberg said to the Torrington group. “We need to learn to talk differently about Rotary … why are you Rotarians? Why are you passionate about Rotary?

“We need to figure it out for ourselves, and we need to verbalize that (to attract new members),” he continued. “We need to be able to tell people why Rotary is important to us personally.”

Rutenberg joined the Rotary Club of Fort Collins, Colo. in 2001 and served as president in 2007-08. In 2007, he was honored as “Rotarian of the Year” for District 5440 and has received many club recognitions, including the Five Areas of Service Award and Spirit of Rotary Awards. He is a multiple Paul Harris Fellow and Bequest Society member. Rutenberg was District Chair for Club Visioning from 2008-2011, the District Grants Committee Chair from 2010-2013, as well as a member of various club committees, including fundraising, foundation chair and world community service. Rutenberg has served as President of Rocky Mountain Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA), Chair of RYLA and Young RYLA, and senior counselor at both RYLA and Young RYLA. He was District 5440 Assistant Governor from 2010-2013 – serving the four Greeley, Colo. clubs.

In addition, Rutenberg chaired the district club visioning endeavor from 2008-2011, currently facilitates Rotary Leadership Institute sessions and joined the Presidents-Elect Training Seminar (PETS) facilitation team in 2011. He served as a PETS trainer from 2008-2012 and lead trainer from 2013-2015.

Rutenberg was President of the Board for Senior Alternatives in Transportation (SAINT) in Fort Collins and Loveland, Colo., and as the President of the Board for Care Housing, Inc. – a non-profit organization that provides affordable housing in Fort Collins and Windsor, Colo. Rutenberg spent 31 years working for two Fortune 500 companies and retired this year after 16 years in the financial services industry.

He has been married to wife, Lynn, for 34 years. They have a son and three daughters, as well as seven grandchildren. Rutenberg enjoys hiking, playing golf and nature photography.