At its morning meeting Wednesday, the Surry Sunrise Rotary welcomed its new President Sammy Long for his first official duties.

Long will steer the Surry Sunrise Rotary into its ninth year as president.

“I am looking forward to another productive year for Surry Sunrise Rotary and building upon a strong commitment to serving our community that has been built by all of our members. We just had a successful event at Veterans Memorial Park with a Fourth of July celebration and fireworks show that helped raise over $1,600 for the Surry County Food Pantry and Veterans In Distress. My goal is to increase our membership so that we can do even more this year,” said Long.

N.A. Barnes, the outgoing president, will be Surry Sunrise Rotary’s first member to represent in a district Rotary position by serving as the Rotary International Foundation area representative for District 7690.

“I know Sammy will do a great job for us. If we can grow our membership this year, then we can do more for Surry County, which during this time of economic challenges we are all going through will mean even more for those who need our help. I have really enjoyed leading the Surry Sunrise Rotary this year and look forward to serving in the District this coming year,” Barnes said.

Surry Sunrise Rotary members believe in having fun while networking with other business leaders in the area.

“We encourage you to visit us at one of our regular meetings on Wednesday mornings at Prime Sirloin on Rockford Street,” Long said. ”We would love anyone to consider joining us to help us in our efforts to make our community, our state, and our world a better place to live and work.”

Meetings start with breakfast at 7:30 a.m. followed by a short 30-minute meeting starting at 8 a.m.