How Service Has Affected My Life
Tanner Elliott will be sharing his thoughts on Rotary's motto, Service Above Self and the role service has played throughout his life. He'll reflect on some of the experiences and people that have shaped my commitment to serving others - from my time in Scouting and student leadership to my work in philanthropy and community engagement. More importantly, he hopes to share why service matters, the impact it can have on others, and how each of us has the opportunity toi make a difference in our communities.
Tanner attended Harlem High School and as his Eagle Scout Project, Tanner noticed that there were kids in wheelchairs who couldn't see the football games at the Harlem stadium and came up with a plan to build a wheelchair accessible ramp onto the bleachers. With the help of the Harlem School District, he raised $35,000 to complete the project.
Tanner graduated from Rockford University with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice/police science in 2021 and earned his MBA in Organizational Leadership in 2023. He worked during college as a Sales Vendor for Hayes Beer Distributing Company and then while he was working on his MBA, he worked as a Residence Hall Director at RU and also was the Assistant Esports Coordinator. After he got his MBA, he worked full time at RU as the Esports Director and then as the Senior Advancement Officer. He joined Rockford Area Habitat for Humanity as the Development Manager in October of 2025. He joined Rockford Rotary in February of 2026 and will join the Board as a Director on July 1, 2026.
When interviewed for his Eagle Scout project Tanner said, "I've just always enjoyed helping people and if that's something I think I can do for a living, I think I's enjoy that".
This will be an interesting program and one that you will want to bring a guest or prospective member to join us in person at Memorial Hall or via Zoom. Elise Cadigan will introduce our presenter and act as Rotary host.