Michael Wilson will serve as president of the Moorestown Rotary Lunch Club.
Michael Wilson attended his first meeting of the Moorestown Rotary Lunch Club in 2006. He joined immediately after.
“I was warmly welcomed and put to work,” Wilson said with an effusive laugh.
More than 10 years later, Wilson is stepping into the role of president. He said he’s eager to “steer the ship while everyone else paddles” on their journey to making a positive impact on local and international communities.
Wilson was raised down the road from Moorestown in Cherry Hill. Number six of seven children, he said his house was chaotic growing up, but his parents were good mentors to them all. He attended Cherry Hill West where he was a self-described “below average athlete” but he was eager to try a little of everything.
His interests lay in the math and sciences. His father and maternal grandfather were both engineers, and while attending Drexel University, he discovered his passion for mechanical drafting. Ultimately, Wilson graduated with a bachelor’s of science degree in mechanical engineering from Drexel.
Upon graduating, Wilson married, and the pair moved to Blenheim where they resided for 11 years. They moved to Moorestown when their oldest of three daughters was 7 years old. He said they were familiar with Moorestown’s reputation for quality education, and they wanted their daughters to attend the best schools.
Today, Wilson runs his own consulting engineering business based in Moorestown. He said Polaris Consulting Engineers, PC fell into his lap after a proposal to start his own firm came across his desk. He said he was working for a larger corporation at the time, and he was offered the opportunity to spin his office into his own firm. He opened the doors to the business 30 days later.
At the behest of his insurance agent, Wilson visited a Moorestown Rotary Lunch Club meeting. He said he felt like he had a lot in common with the fellow business women and men in the club, and he wanted to join them in giving back to the community.
As he enters his presidency, Wilson said he’s excited by the prospect of continuing the club’s emphasis on international service projects. He said the club is very active with hands-on service projects, and his goal is to raise awareness of the good work Rotary is doing both locally and internationally.
“They’ve been fantastic; we’ve done some really interesting and rewarding projects throughout the world,” Wilson said.
Amy Webb, Wilson’s predecessor as president, said each year when the club’s officers change over, it changes the personality of the club. She said Wilson has a dry sense of humor and has an even-keeled approach.
“He’s going to be a good uniter of all different members of different ages, genders and backgrounds,” Webb said. “He’ll be great at keeping the peace and having the club run smoothly.”
Webb said the most satisfying part about serving as president is seeing the club grow and watching all of the moving parts come together as they work on a project. She said with Wilson at the helm and a great board behind him, the club will continue to thrive in the next year.
“He’s just a great person,” Webb said. “He’s got a great heart, and he’ll do a great job.”
