When Maureen S. Patterson is installed next Wednesday as president of the Midlothian Rotary Club, she will be become the club’s first African-American woman president.

She will preside over a club that has only one other African-American member.

Mrs. Patterson believes that the 33-year-old Rotary branch has few African-American members because of a lack of knowledge about the international organization that has 1.2 million members.

During her one-year term, she plans to focus on the Rotary’s “core value” of diversity to recruit business, professional and community leaders to the organization.

“I just don’t think the knowledge is out there,” she said. “There are a lot of affluent black people who would be involved if they knew about it. My role is to get the word out and make Rotary known.”

Mrs. Patterson’s selling points will include the organization’s motto, “Service Above Self.” That service is performed by members in countless ways in the community, in the workplace and throughout the world, she said.

Before joining the Midlothian Rotary, Mrs. Patterson worked with students at Richmond’s Clark Springs Elementary School through the Virginia Mentoring Partnership program for 15 years.

Seeking to continue her outreach, it was the Rotary’s focus on service and its “Four-Way Test” that convinced Mrs. Patterson to join the organization in 2009.

The Four-Way Test, she explains, is an ethical guide for Rotarians to use in evaluating their personal and professional relationships by asking four questions:

Of the things we think, say or do:

Is it the truth?

2) Is it fair to all concerned?

3) Will it build goodwill and better friendships?

4) Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

“From that information, I knew this was an organization I wanted to be part of,” Mrs. Patterson says. “Its guiding principles provide Rotarians with a strong, common purpose and direction. These principles serve as a foundation for our relationships with each other and the action we take in the world.”

Mrs. Patterson says that inviting diverse groups of people and organizations to Rotary Club meetings is one way to make her club more visible. She referenced a visit from Chesterfield County’s Mega Mentors, a volunteer organization of more than 100 business professionals who support the academic achievements of African-American and under-represented students in seven Chesterfield County Schools.

In May, Mega Mentors representatives, who are predominantly African-American, attended a Midlothian Rotary club meeting to inform members how they can become involved as mentors, in fundraising activities and as volunteers. Several Rotary members accepted Mega Mentor’s offer and since have participated in activities to assist the organization, Mrs. Patterson said.

Meet this week’s Personality who seeks to serve, Maureen S. Patterson:

No. 1 volunteer position: President of the Midlothian Rotary Club after June 29 installation. Midlothian Rotary Club is in Rotary International District 7600.

Occupation: Licensed Virginia Realtor and a property manager.

Place of birth: Cincinnati.

Current residence: Powhatan County.

Alma maters: Bachelor’s degree in paralegal studies from the University of Richmond’s School of Continuing Studies, magna cum laude; MBA in management and technology from the University of Maryland University College.

Family: Husband, Mark Patterson; son and daughter, Sean Patterson and Alleen Davis.

Rotary is: A worldwide organization of more than 1.2 million business, professional and community leaders. Members of Rotary clubs, known as Rotarians, provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations and help build goodwill and peace in the world.

When Rotary International was founded: The first rotary club meeting was held in Chicago on Feb. 23, 1905. The name Rotary International was adopted in 1922.

Rotary International mission: We provide service to others, promote integrity and advance world understanding, goodwill and peace through our fellowship of business, professional and community leaders.

Why is this organization important: Rotarians are leaders who act responsibly and take action to tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Rotarians develop community service projects that address many of today’s most critical issues, such as children at risk, poverty and hunger, the environment, illiteracy and violence. They also support programs for youths, educational opportunities and international exchanges for students, teachers and other professionals, and vocational and career development.

When elected president: I was nominated as a director on the Midothian Rotary Club’s Board of Directors in 2012. After serving three years on the board, I was elected president-elect in July 2015. My year as president begins July 1.

Significance of your election: The Midlothian Rotary Club has had two other women presidents since it was chartered in 1983. I will be the first African-American woman to lead the club.

Total number of club members: 81.

Number of women: 14.

Number of African-American members: Two.

Number of clubs nationwide: 7,690.

My No. 1 goal as club president: Be a vibrant club.

Strategy for achieving it: I will keep members engaged and inspired. We will be out promoting Rotary in our community through our service projects and fundraisers. During my presidency, I will focus on ways to recruit, inspire, and engage millennials, while at the same time ensuring our older club members are equally inspired and engaged.

Rotary’s No. 1 goal today: All Rotarians worldwide are united in a campaign for the global eradication of polio. PolioPlus is the volunteer arm of the global partnership dedicated to eradicating polio. For more than 20 years, Rotary has led the private sector in the global effort to rid the world of this crippling disease. Today, PolioPlus and its role in the initiative is recognized worldwide as a model of public-private cooperation in pursuit of a humanitarian goal. In addition to providing financial and volunteer support, Rotary works to urge support from other public and private sector partners. This includes the campaign to End Polio Now, inspired by the extraordinary challenge grants received from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 

Definition of a leader: An optimistic person that has an inspiring vision for a group or organization, and then has the ability to unite, engage, inspire, motivate and provide the tools for the group/organization members to successfully achieve desired outcomes.

Outlook at start of day: God is good, my best friend and walking with me every step I take today!

End of day: Optimistic for tomorrow.

I place top value on: Integrity.

How I unwind: Swimming laps in the pool.

Three words that best describe me: Honest, compassionate and dedicated.

Hobby: Thursday night bowling league.

Prized possession: My faith.

Nobody knows: I am a once a year Las Vegas girl! My husband and I make it to Vegas once each year, but that’s all I can say because “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!”

The best thing my parents ever taught me was: The Ten Commandments.

Best late-night snack: Cheez-It crackers.

Person who influenced me the most: My mother.

Book that influenced me the most: “The Elements of Style” by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White.

What I’m reading now: One of our club’s oldest members shared a few books with me he thought would be interesting and helpful in support of my presidency, so I am currently reading “My Road to Rotary” by Paul P. Harris.

If I’ve learned one thing in life, it is: The Golden Rule.

Next goal: Become owner of a real estate agency.