This month, local State Farm insurance agent Danny Armenta took over the presidency of the Clovis Rotary Club for 2018-2019.
Originally from Boyle Heights in East Los Angeles, Armenta moved to Fresno with his mother and three siblings in 1988. After graduating from Clovis West High School, he went on to graduate from Life Pacific College.
Armenta is a big believer in “service above self.” That is where the connection with Rotary service comes in. He wanted to think beyond his personal needs and was determined to serve his community.
“I faced many challenges as a young person raised poor in a large community like Southern California,” says Armenta. “I had always hoped that there was more to this life than I was born into.
“That hope stirred in me an expectation that I was destined to do great things with my life, similar to the many great and inspirational men and women who had not only loved and cared for me along the way, but also exposed me to something bigger: a life of service. So now I not only wanted to be great but I also was inspired to do great things with my life for others just like me. I was determined to be an agent of change!”
For 57 years, the Clovis Rotary has been a leadership organization that is made up of local business, professional and civic leaders who share a common desire to provide service to their community, locally and internationally. It is where neighbors, friends, and problem-solvers share ideas, join leaders and take action to create lasting change with a primary focus on youth and community service.
Rotary is blind to color, creed, faith, gender or social economic background. It “offers anyone an enjoyable and organized way to make a significant contribution to their community. By putting their skills to use locally and globally, members also enhance their professional network, career development and cross-cultural understanding.”
As an insurance agent and owner of Danny Armenta State Farm Agency in Fresno, Armenta has long been active in making a difference.He manages, inspires and educates his team while providing customer service and community outreach. He served as a full-time ordained minister for 10 years, where he ministered domestically and internationally, and now serves as an advisor for the Renaissance Scholars Program at Fresno State.
Armenta’s personal passions are his faith and his family; his wife, Veronica, and five children.
Honored to be serving in the Clovis Rotary Club, Armenta says, “I see Rotary continuing its direction as being ranked one of the Top 3 non-profit service organizations in the world, according to CNBC, and receiving a perfect four-star rating from Charity Navigator for its management of donations, accountability and transparency.
“Our future plans include our local support of Fresno State as we host a multi-club tailgate event and attend the Bulldogs’ football gave versus Wyoming in October. We will also be having a fundraising dinner in November for our Single Parents of the Year Holiday Contest, annual 500 Christmas Food Basket Giveaway in December and annual Crab Feed at Clovis Veterans Memorial District, Feb. 23, 2019.”
In his new position, Armenta looks to continue serving and living a life of compassion – and encourages others to do the same.
“In my experience there are two types of people in this world, those with compassion and those without,” says Armenta. “And the greatest way to increase your compassion level is to serve!
“The increasing of our compassion level through service begins in our youth and is mastered in our adulthood. My advice to young people is to twofold: Live a life of compassion. Live a life of service.”