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Charlotte Amalie
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesProfile: Bruce Munro to Take Charge at Rotary

Profile: Bruce Munro to Take Charge at Rotary

Bruce MunroWhen the guard changes at the Rotary Club of St. John in early July, Bruce Munro, 73, will be the new president. He replaces Catherine Fahy.

“I like the quality of the people and the motto of service over self,” he said when asked what attracted him to Rotary in the first place.

He sees challenges ahead.

“My plan is to significantly increase membership,” he said.

Munro is new to Rotary – he joined last summer – but with his enthusiasm and energy to spare, his fellow Rotarians opted to name him president. And, Munro said there weren’t a lot of people lining up for the job.

Once he gets the membership numbers up, he plans to get those new Rotarians immediately involved in projects.

“You’ve got to have active members,” he said.

He’s pushing for more programs targeted at St. John’s youth to help them on the road to success. He said that while Rotary has a scholarship program, it just isn’t enough to meet the need.

“We can do more,” he said.

Munro has always had a busy life. After graduation from the University of Rhode Island with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in business administration from the same school, the Newport, R.I., native spent his working career in engineering, the last 22 years as a consultant.

“I traveled the whole world,” he said, ticking off such far-flung places as South Korea.

Meanwhile, he and his first wife bought property on St. John, where the two and later Munro alone frequently vacationed.

Munro and his current wife, Monica, settled in to an active St. John life eight years ago. They met as seatmates on a vacation flight to St. Thomas and the rest, as they say, is history.

However, Munro wasn’t keen on retiring, so he worked at the Ritz Carlton-St. Thomas in a variety of jobs. He then decided he wanted to devote more time to painting, gardening, astronomy/cosmology and spending two days a week as relief assistant property manager at Lavender Hill condominiums in Cruz Bay. So he left the Ritz Carlton.

When Munro is not busy with Rotary activities, he and Monica are active volunteers at Animal Care Center of St. John. And they spend time visiting their grandchildren and children – Munro has three children and his wife, one – in various locations around the country.

And they often socialize with friends.

“This is a real tight community,” he said.

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