Becky credits her aunt in Oakland, California, with inspiring her to become a Rotarian. Her aunt was the first woman in her club, the first female president in her district and the first female governor in her district.

“She has served Rotary for as long as I can remember,” Becky said. “I have wanted to be a Rotarian for a long time!”

So when a new Rotary club formed in Bayfield, Becky was ready. She and her husband, Rick, joined what is now the Pine River Valley Centennial Rotary Club, beginning a Rotary journey that would eventually take Becky from club service to the governor’s office and beyond.

Leadership with a purpose

Today, Becky serves as Vice Chair to District Governor Donna Hood. In that role, she supports and mentors the governor and members of the Governor Line, drawing on the experience she gained while preparing for and serving as District Governor in 2021-22.

She also leads the District 5470 Educational Group, the district’s nonprofit foundation, overseeing its finances, policies and board of directors.

This year, the Educational Group has placed a special emphasis on developing leaders among District 5470’s approximately 1,700 Rotarians, including prioritizing funding for RLI and other learning opportunities.

For Becky, however, Rotary education is not simply about preparing the next club president, committee chair or district governor.

In fact, she wishes more Rotarians understood that attending a Rotary learning opportunity does not come with an invisible contract requiring them to accept a leadership position.

“The real truth is that the more club members learn about our organization, the better they can support the community projects, club fundraisers and enjoy the fellowship they gain at the trainings,” she said.

She also encourages Rotarians to explore Rotary’s many online courses, which allow members to learn more about the organization, service and leadership from home.

Creating spaces to learn, connect and laugh

Some of Becky’s favorite leadership experiences have gone far beyond traditional training sessions.

Together, Becky and Donna Hood hosted two conferences for women at Donna’s ranch in Westcliffe, Colorado.

The goal was simple but meaningful: to bring together women of service from District 5470, northern Colorado and southern Wyoming who wanted to expand and deepen their commitment to serving others.

Each conference welcomed more than 50 women who gathered not only to learn, but to better understand themselves, their communication styles and their approaches to problem solving.

And there was plenty of joy mixed in.

“We danced, we painted, we cried and we formed new friendships,” Becky said. “We laughed, laughed, laughed.”

The conference proved so successful that it was repeated a second time.

For Becky, experiences like these demonstrate that leadership development is not merely about acquiring skills. It is also about creating relationships, building confidence and giving people space to discover something new about themselves.

“It was priceless,” she said.

Donna Hood and Becky Smith at the Women in the Rockies Conference in 2025.

Finding her “why”

Becky describes herself, with a healthy dose of humor, as “a naturally bossy person.”

“I love to lead organizations and improve their functionality,” she said. “I absolutely love interacting with Rotarians and guiding them as they discover their own value within our organization.”

She previously served three years as District Trainer and found just as much satisfaction working with club members who had no desire to hold office as she did helping future leaders discover abilities they might not have recognized in themselves.

That connection to learning runs deeper than Rotary.

Inspired by Simon Sinek’s Finding Your Why, Becky eventually found the words to describe what has motivated much of her life:

Opening opportunities for others to grow and find their value.

Before retiring, Becky spent much of her career in education. She taught elementary school and later worked for the Colorado Department of Education, helping seven of the state’s lowest-performing school districts through improvement efforts focused on student learning and growth.

She sees a direct connection between that work and Rotary.

Watching a child suddenly understand a new concept brought her joy as a teacher. Through Rotary, she finds that same sense of purpose by helping create opportunities for people around the world to improve their lives and develop their abilities.

And Rotary, Becky says, asks something of her in return.

“The thing that makes Rotary different from the other service organizations is that Rotary has expectations of me, too,” she said.

The Four-Way Test has become a tool she uses in both personal and professional decisions.

“I’ve served Rotary for over two decades and yet it serves me, too.”

An unexpected gift

For all the service, leadership and learning Rotary has brought into Becky’s life, one of its greatest gifts was something she never anticipated.

“Rotary has allowed me to meet remarkable and inspirational people from all over the world and to develop some deep lifetime friendships,” she said. “It’s a gift that I didn’t expect.”

Those friendships have become an important part of what Rotary means to her.

They also reinforce something Becky has discovered repeatedly during her Rotary journey: learning and service may bring people into the same room, but the relationships formed there often become part of the lasting impact.

Turning passion into impact

One of the Rotary accomplishments closest to Becky’s heart grew from her lifelong passion for educational opportunities for girls living in impoverished communities.

In many places, girls can miss days of school each month because schools lack clean water and private, adequate sanitation facilities.

During her year as District Governor, Becky challenged every District 5470 club to contribute $500 toward a global grant water and sanitation project in Zambia, with an initial goal of raising $25,000.

The district responded.

Clubs that could give more helped make up the difference for those that could not contribute the full amount, and together they exceeded the fundraising goal. District Designated Funds then matched $25,000 of the money raised.

District 5470 ultimately sent $50,000 to the Rotary 100 Club of Phoenix for the project, and The Rotary Foundation added another $20,000.

The result was $70,000 from the combined effort supporting wells and quality sanitation facilities in Zambia, creating an impact Becky believes will improve educational opportunities for girls for decades to come.

It is the kind of tangible service Becky loves most.

Her favorite part of Rotary remains hands-on projects, where Rotarians work together and can see what their efforts accomplish.

And Becky’s international service continues. She and Rick recently heard from a longtime Rotary friend, Sister Maddy, a nun in Zimbabwe whose school they previously helped by supporting construction of a fence to protect the children’s vegetable gardens from wildlife. Sister Maddy is now working to build a new school in a remote, impoverished community, and Becky and Rick plan to help lead a fundraising effort that will reach across District 5470.

Becky and Rick Smith

Beyond Rotary

A Colorado native, Becky has spent most of her adult life in Southwest Colorado. She attended Fort Lewis College, where she earned a degree in education and met Rick, her partner in what she describes as every kind of adventure they could dream up.

They built their home and life in Bayfield, where Becky also served 12 years on the local school board.

Today, their adventures often take them farther afield. Their two adult children and families live in Spokane, Washington, and Vienna, Austria, and Becky and Rick spend several months each year with Rick’s Italian family.

Becky and Rick with their grandchildren.

When Rotary isn't calling, you might find Becky and Rick riding their e-bikes, attending classical music concerts or sitting at an outdoor café people-watching over a favorite beverage. Becky is also a beginning crochet enthusiast, a middle-of-the-night novel reader and an enthusiastic student of Italian cooking.

Next June, another adventure awaits: Becky and Rick are looking forward to attending the Rotary International Convention in Barcelona.

After two decades, Becky says Rotary has taught her how people of different backgrounds, languages, cultures, educational levels and lifestyles can come together around something larger than those differences.

“We let all of those labels ‘go’ when we come together as people of service.”

And for anyone wondering whether there might be a place for them in district service, Becky has a characteristically straightforward invitation:

“Drop me a line through email and we can have a good discussion about your potential service!”

Becky can be reached at beckyjsmith.rotary@gmail.com.

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Becky and Rick Smith