Presidential Candidates

Hanna Giblin 

          Hi guys, my name is Hanna Giblin, and I will be a Senior next year. As you know I'm running for president, so I'm going to try to keep this brief.

          I first became a part of Interact my freshman year. Back then, I was still at McCracken so I remember running across campus just to try to get to the high school meetings in time. I was among the youngest there and I was pretty soft spoken, so I did not have much of a voice in the club. But something really stuck with me that first year. Back then, our club was overflowing with students excited to be part of the community. Everyone constantly had ideas to contribute, and there were always large amounts of our members at the events. It was a truly invigorating experience and it taught me that even the small things we do can make a big impact on those we help around us. However, with the issues our officers have faced this year like having to cancel the haunted house (our biggest fundraiser), and having restricted opportunities for meetings- the truth is, our club is starting to dwindle. Fewer and fewer people are showing up to meetings and events, and there just isn't as much interest as there use to be. Although we have some committed members, I miss that sense of passion and motivation that use to fill up the room. If elected as the president of this club I aim to "reignite" that spark in the student body here at Bluffton High. I want to get our name out in the community so people know they can turn to us for help.

          I have never really been one to talk myself up, but I can give you the facts. This year, Interact has volunteered at 5 major events. Those being: the Arts and Seafood Festival, the Rose Hill Polo Match, Tree Decorating at Bloom, BINGO night at Bloom, and the Annual Rotary oyster roast. I have attended all except two events- the Polo match and Bingo night. The polo match was the same day as the Arts and seafood festival, and BINGO night was on my birthday. In addition to those events, I have attended every meeting held this year, so you can trust me when I say I am committed to this club. Through this club I have learned how satisfying it is to give back to the community and I have developed much more self-confidence from when I first started. Things I may have never experienced without becoming involved in this cause. I strongly believe in what this club stands for, and I hope to have the chance to give back to this club, to help rebuild it as your president. But regardless of the outcome of this election I look forward to working with you all again next year. Thank you

Alissa Boockmeyer 

         Hello, my name is Alissa Boockmeyer. I'm a junior and today I am running to become your club president. I am a part of the Bilingual Ambassador club, as well as other clubs. But I must admit this year is my first time fully participating in the Interact club at our school because last year I was actually Bluffton's Rotary exchange student abroad in Denmark, where I received full benefit of Rotary's scholarship and became tri-lingual. As you all may know, Interact is a sub-club for high school students directly based off the Rotary club which is the organization that brings people together for humanitarian services and to promote peace all around the world. During my elementary and middle school years, my family had the chance to live in Panama and if you know anything about this country it is underdeveloped, so from a young age I was able to see all the good movements this organization along with others had from building wells for potable water to going into indigenous areas and helping with vaccinations. Although we have the fortunateness of ling in such a well developed area and we don't get to see these problems first hand; this does not mean we can't help more in our communities. If there's anything I've learned from living in Denmark (also a well developed area), it is that no matter where you are in the world, how good everything seems, there is always a new way to help. Sin I joined this club I've seen the goodness in all of your hearts personally when you guys participate in some of the festivals, and when we played bingo with some of the elderly. I'm so proud of the example our current office has set for us yet I strongly believe that even the best of things have room for improvement, and the visions I have for this club include: more active service, different ways to raise money, continue donating, and even find new ways to make Rotary's scholarships and opportunities for college and high school available to all of you. As president, I promise to dedicate my time and energy into the club, assisting the rotary meeting with our sponsors. If you vote for me I would love for us to build a stronger more hands-on group where we can continue to spread all of the goodness of the world together.