Close your eyes and imagine this with me: on one day in May, in 8 different countries around the world, in 57 Rotary Districts, in hundreds of communities, thousands of volunteers went to work to Unite for Good.
All united around one simple idea: Do something EPIC for your community — together.
And right here in Summit County, we did exactly that.
The Rotary Club of Summit County partnered with the Rotary Club of Breckenridge for a day of hands-on service, just by cleaning up a 2-mile stretch of Highway 9 - both sides, 4 miles.
Interestingly, our friends in the Sierra Club were also out that day, also picking up trash. We invited them to celebrate with us afterward with our favorite PBR (Pizza, Beer, and Rotary). Which they did!
Different organizations. Different perspectives. One community.
One spirit of service. One powerful reminder of Rotary International’s theme this year: Unite for Good.
There are days when Rotary meetings may not even matter. And then there are days when Rotary becomes impossible to ignore.
This past weekend was one of those days.
What makes our EPIC Day of Service special isn’t just the scale of the projects happening around the world — although that’s impressive enough. It’s the idea behind it.
No politics. No division. No arguing over who gets credit. Just people showing up to help -- making a difference.
And maybe the best part came afterward — when volunteers gathered, laughing, swapping stories, comparing sore muscles, and building the kind of friendships that happen when people work side by side toward something meaningful. You learn things about people you might never learn without spending time with them and working on the same mission.
That’s the part that we don't always see. Service cleans roads. It restores trails. It feeds families. It improves communities. And importantly, it also creates connection.
And right now, connection may be one of the most valuable things we can build.
In a world that often feels divided, uncertain, chaotic, and exhausting, the EPIC Day of Service reminds us that people still want to come together to do good -- simply because it needs doing.
Not for recognition. Not for applause. But because serving alongside other good people still feels hopeful.
And I know trash pickup alone may not seem epic.
But thousands of people, across multiple countries around the world, all choosing to spend the same day serving and connecting with others?
That’s epic.
With warm Rotary hugs,
Angry James Brewery
