Rotary Club of Salisbury announces new president – Salisbury Post

SALISBURY — The Rotary Club of Salisbury recently announced that Karen Hobson will serve as president for the 2024-25 term. At today’s regular club meeting, current President Cindy Fink presented President Hobson with the club gavel, signaling the change in club leadership.

In addition to her service with the Rotary Club of Salisbury, Hobson currently serves as assistant scoutmaster for BSA Troop 448 and is a member of its leadership committee. Hobson has served as executive director of the Historic Salisbury Foundation and has been a consultant to the Community Development Corporation of Salisbury.

In 2012, she returned to Salisbury and restored her family home in the West Square Historic District, which was part of the Historic Foundation’s annual October tour.

Before returning to Salisbury, Hobson was President of New York-based Hobson Associates Limited, where she gained over 25 years of experience in the development and financing of real estate projects, many of them international. Hobson’s development work includes urban redevelopment projects for Yale University, the City of Miami Beach and Canary Wharf in London. Since 2008, Hobson has focused on consulting work in West Africa, particularly Ghana.

President Hobson holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree in architecture from North Carolina State University. She has a long-standing interest in hiking and has hiked all over the world, including climbing Mount Kilimanjaro twice.

“I believe in service and the difference it can make to our community and the world at large,” said Hobson. “As incoming president of the Rotary Club of Salisbury, I am committed to expanding Rotary’s impact and continuing our efforts to make Salisbury-Rowan a better place for all.”

Other new club leaders include Rocky M. Cabagnot, president-elect; Donnie Clement, secretary; Bill Lee, treasurer; and Leigh Ellington, membership director. At the Rotary District 7680 level, members of the Rotary Club of Salisbury were appointed by the district governor to the district leadership team for the 2024-25 term. Fink will serve as the alternate Rotary governor for Rowan County and will serve four ROtar Clubs.

Club Director David Post will serve as chair of the CART Fund for District 7680, which provides seed money for innovative, high-impact research grants to support the search for a treatment or cure for Alzheimer’s disease.

In addition, Cabagnot will also serve as District 7680 chair for Rotaract clubs, which bring people ages 18 and older together to exchange ideas with community leaders, develop leadership and professional skills, and have fun serving.