Michael Desplaines, the 2021-22 Rotary Club of Norfolk president, first saw Rotary's impact while working for a YMCA in Massachusetts. A Rotary club funded an exchange program he led that brought together children from Ireland and Northern Ireland. Michael later was a Rotary beneficiary when selected for a Rotary group study exchange program that sent him to India for a month in 2000.
Michael, president and CEO of Norfolk Botanical Garden, became a Rotarian after moving to Hampton Roads in 2014 to head the 175-acre garden. The reason it took so long for him to join: All clubs in his previous cities were breakfast clubs, and Michael is not a morning person. When Rotarian Bill Eisenbeiss encouraged Michael to visit the Rotary Club of Norfolk -- a lunch club -- he eagerly joined in 2014 and immediately got involved.
Michael is an enthusiastic Rotarian who has served on his club's board of directors and as its secretary/treasurer, vice president of programs and president of Norfolk Rotary Charities. He also was president of the Rotary District 7600 Alumni Group and was selected Alumni of the Year by the district in 2019.
Michael grew up in Pawtucket, R.I. speaking only French until kindergarten thanks to his parents French Canadian roots. As a child, Michael wanted to be an archeologist like Indiana Jones. In high school he volunteered at a wildlife refuge before getting a job on an organic herb farm where he learned about plants and also "how to speak to the public and give tours" -- skills Michael uses daily. After graduating from the University of Rhode Island with a horticulture degree in the midst of a recession, Michael took the only job he could find -- licensing stock brokers for an insurance firm. Michael says this job taught him "about the business world, how to dress for work and that he hated desk jobs."
A newspaper ad led Michael to the Y, where he started an environmental program for youth from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods and founded a teen center. He worked for a public school before becoming executive director of the McLaughlin Garden and Homestead in Maine and then founding director of the Castle in the Clouds museum and garden in New Hampshire. After a total of 12 years heading these two New England organizations, Michael came to Hampton Roads seven years ago to lead Norfolk Botanical Garden where he is passionate about protecting the environment for future generations.
Michael lives in Virginia Beach with his husband, Jason Robertson, a real estate agent. In 2016, Michael earned a master's degree from Plymouth State University in natural resource development -- horticulture. In his free time, Michael likes to travel, swim, lift weights and garden.
As a believer in service above self, Michael looks forward to leading the Rotary Club in a post-pandemic environment. He plans to emphasize fellowship and to reinvigorate the club's committees.