Q&A: Bo Fuller, a newer club member, is taking over the presidency of the Rotary Club of Longboat Key

Plenty of Longboat Key-area organizations take the summer off, but that’s when the Rotary Club of Longboat Key takes the time to install new leadership and get fresh management running. This year, Bo Fuller was installed as the club’s president on June 22 and starts his term amid a Longboat Key that’s just waking up after the pandemic. He’s a Realtor in Sarasota with a family history in Rotary-relevant service. Though he’s only been in the area for just over a year, he’s already jumped into getting to know the Longboat Key area and its Rotarians service passions. 

Why did you join the Rotary Club? 

My dad was a Rotarian, so my whole life, I always heard about Rotary and people of action and taking leadership roles and helping serve. He was also a real estate agent and a builder, so we both kind of have that service heart, and Rotary just helps me facilitate that service aspect and especially the Longboat Key club. I'm downtown and that was part of the process when I got here was to figure out what club (to join) because I had joined the club up in North Carolina before I moved down. I just have a true love for Longboat Key to begin with, but the club seemed more service-oriented and so it really was a good fit.

What do you enjoy most? 

Everyone that I've met, from (member) John Brill to Phillipe Koenig, whose wife started the club, you can just sense that there's a genuine service heart in all of them. It feels like a family. 

Why did you want to take on a leadership role? 

I like to challenge myself. I've always been interested in Rotary since my dad was in Rotary years ago in Georgia, and he served in leadership roles as President, and I just saw the profound effect that had on him. I think it's also about being new here. It really sort of helps me connect with other club members as well as the community.

What will your presidency look like? 

We're excited, obviously, that we can be back out and in the public and be doing things. I'm a runner … and we've talked about doing anything from a 5K, even to possibly a marathon on the Key to raise money for kids. I like the idea of collaborating with other local clubs, possibly like Kiwanis or some of the others to do a big event. We tossed around like doing an oyster roast for the police and fire and making that an annual event so we can bring people together to get to know each other a little bit more.

What does the future of the club look like? 

We've been trying to be as active as we can. We get together routinely and do the trash pickup on Gulf of Mexico Drive and things like that. We had a lot of people that stopped by that were interested in the club on the Fourth of July, so I think people are ready to get back out and do things. There's some things that happened during COVID that probably brought out a lot of other people's service hearts and it just made a lot of people want to contribute more and make a difference. When you do an event and see the happiness and see the way you're making a difference, it's just a special feeling and I think a lot of people want to be a part of that. I'm excited. I think it's gonna be a really good year and there's a great future on the Key.