Abby Benbow

PAST PRESIDENT

My Rotary Story

I was invited to join Madison West Middleton Rotary by my colleague Steve Aune. Once I learned about Rotary's mission of Service Above Self and saw how many people were coming together around the shared goal of doing good in the world, I was all in.

What immediately appealed to me was seeing people who are passionate about very different causes and service projects come together as a club to make those efforts bigger and more impactful.

I originally joined because I wanted to feel like I was doing my part and contributing to something bigger than what I could accomplish alone. But what has kept me in Rotary is the people.

Why I've Stayed

Rotary brings together people from all walks of life, with different backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, and beliefs. Yet we're able to build strong friendships because we're united by a shared mission of service.

That's one of the things I value most about Madison West Middleton Rotary. We don't all have to be the same to work together, become friends, and make a meaningful difference in our community. That's something I'd love to see more of in the world.

Serving as President of Madison West Middleton Rotary gave me an even greater appreciation for our members, the projects they care about, and what can happen when a group of committed people gets behind a good idea.

A Little About Me

I grew up in Port Washington, Wisconsin, and came to Madison to attend the University of Wisconsin–Madison. While studying International Studies and African Languages, I learned Swahili and had the opportunity to spend a semester in Kenya working with a micro-lending nonprofit.

That experience became one of the most formative of my life. It challenged me to step far outside what was familiar and helped spark an appetite for new experiences, different perspectives, and continually challenging myself. After college, that journey also took me to New Zealand and Indonesia before eventually bringing me back home to Wisconsin.

Today, I work in real estate with First Weber. I love that no two transactions are exactly alike. I get to meet people I otherwise might never cross paths with, solve problems every day, and constantly learn something new.

I'm married to Ross, a researcher at UW–Madison, and we're raising our two daughters. Life is rarely boring — which is probably exactly how I like it.