The world’s longest-continuing service club organization turns 100 years old Wednesday, and Rotary clubs across the North Olympic Peninsula are observing Rotary International’s centennial at their meetings this week.
Chief among the gatherings will be a Centennial Party for members of the seven Rotary Clubs of Clallam and Jefferson counties on Friday night at 7 Cedars Casino in Blyn.
Mike Donahoe, past president of the Port Angeles Rotary Club and chairman of the party, said the event will mark the first time that members of all seven clubs are gathering for a single activity.
About 300 are expected to attend, Donahoe said.
In addition to Port Angeles Rotary — at 84 years the oldest Rotary Club on the Peninsula — other clubs are Port Angeles Nor’wester Rotary, Sequim Rotary, Sequim Sunrise Rotary, Port Townsend Rotary, Port Townsend Sunrise Rotary and East Jefferson County Rotary.
6 p.m. social hour
The party in the 7 Cedars bingo hall starts at 6 p.m. with a social hour, then dinner from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Donahoe said.
At 8:30 p.m., Rotary District 5020 Gov. Dick Drew from Duncan, British Columbia, his North Olympic Peninsula assistant governor, Jim Pickett of Sequim, and representatives of each club will review individual centennial projects.
Then at 9 p.m., a dance open to the public — “Friends of Rotary,” as organizers call it — will feature the band Fat Chance until 1 a.m.
Tickets for the earlier Rotary dinner party will be available at the door.
Roots in Chicago
Rotary began on the evening of Feb. 23, 1905, in Chicago when attorney Paul Harris met with three business colleagues in hopes of recapturing in a professional club the same friendly spirit they had experienced growing up in small-town America.
They called their club the Rotary Club of Chicago, after the early practice of rotating weekly meetings among members’ offices.
As the Rotary movement grew and clubs were chartered around the world, Rotarians took up community service projects and promoted ethical standards in business.
A century later, more than 1.2 million men and women are members of more than 31,000 Rotary clubs in 166 nations.
