SUMMIT COUNTY - Twice each month, about a dozen 20- and 30-somethings gather to socialize and talk business. Such a scene could describe a typical night out at just about any place or time in Summit County, until you consider the most important issue bringing this group together: community outreach.

That's the main purpose of Summit County's Rotaract chapter, the young-adult branch of Rotary. Boasting the slogan, "It's not your parents' Rotary," the group represents Summit County young professionals, including medical professionals, real estate brokers, bankers and more, with the common goal of wanting to get involved in the community.

The chapter, one of more than 7,000 around the world, started in September 2006 and has come to involve itself in several local and international outreach efforts, from donating money for full-day kindergarten scholarships at Summit schools to helping Rwandans find more financial stability in the coffee trade.

Chapter president Jason Brewer, a broker associate with SnowHome Properties, says the group thrives on a number of different levelvs. "There's business connections going on, humanitarian connections, certainly social connections," he said.

But the focus of Rotaract is giving back, Brewer says. At any given time, "we're either doing service events or fundraiser events," he says, with an eye on the question, "What do you do to give back in the community and plant roots in the community?"

As the group has gotten on its feet, it has branched out into more causes on its own, but in many ways Rotaract serves as support for local Rotary initiatives as well, Brewer said. Rotaract members can provide additional man power for Rotary events, and have even taken over running some Rotary-sponsored causes like the annual Red Ball Beach Bash.

"We saw a need, and the need was for a work force," Brewer said.

The origin of Summit County Rotaract was several Rotarians seeing a need as well - for more young locals to have a stake in the community.

"We were grappling with the issue of, how do you expand Rotary in Summit County?" said Mary Ann Looby, a Rotary officer who helped get the Rotaract chapter off the ground. "We were really talking about how starting a Rotaract would be great because not only would we attract more Rotarians and future Rotarians, but also we'd be able to help young people."

Looby said Rotary was concerned with the fact so many people leave Summit County in their 30s, and wanted to help that age group have an interest in sticking around and becoming leaders.

The trend of young adults leaving the area hasn't escaped the attention of Rotaract's members, Brewer noting that when "you're married and you have a kid, you tend to head downhill because you can't afford to live here anymore."

Hopefully, Looby says, Rotaract can help change that line of thinking. "We need the people who love Summit County to be able to make it here and have a family here and be leaders here," she said. "If you lose your 30-year-olds, you're dead."

The only trouble the local Rotaract has run into came before it even officially began. The typical rules for Rotaract mandate it as a group for 18- to 30-year-olds, but in the atmosphere of Summit County, 40 seemed a more appropriate cut-off. The local Rotary was all for the higher limit, but had to fight a little to get it approved by district officials.

"They said, 'If you're 30 you should be in Rotary,' and we were like, 'Not around here,'" Brewer said.

Now the success of Summit County Rotaract has made it a model for other chapters, Looby said. Past Summit County Rotary president Susan Juergensmeier, who served when the local Rotaract started up, has even been named Rotaract chair for this Rotary district, which represents much of north-central Colorado.

As the local chapter looks to grow, Brewer said membership isn't exactly exclusive, noting it's more about "mental age" than a calendar. Rotaract has even (somewhat jokingly) offered to let older Rotary members join. "We keep telling them it's mental age and they can come down if they want," Brewer said.

To find out more about Summit County Rotaract, contact Brewer at jason@snowhome.com.

<i>Andy Bruner can be contacted at (970) 668-4620, or at abruner@summitdaily.com.</i>