On Dec. 8, 2008, the San Juan Island Rotary Club members Barbara Fagan and Mike Griffin presented the Lopez Elementary School with free dictionaries to all 3rd grade students of teachers, Alex Nellie, and Kathy Dretske at Lopez Elementary School. Principal Roland Mac Nichol and teacher Ross Pomernek watched as students eagerly explored their new dictionaries and quickly located state maps, the US Constitution and the longest word in the English language among other fun facts and information. The Dictionary Project is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to assisting students to feel empowered to learn through reading. The dictionaries are developed expressly for the 3rd grade level reader and are revised every year.

Rotary believes in the importance of reading and hopes that the 3rd grade children of Lopez Island will benefit by having their own dictionary. Included on the book is a name plate which includes the Rotary 4-way test, 1) is it the truth 2) is it fair to all concerned 3) will it bring about good will and better friendship and 4) will it be beneficial to all concerned. Rotary International is a 100 year old service organization.

San Juan Island Rotary meets every Wednesday at Downrigger Restaurant at 8 a.m. in Friday Harbor.