‘Downtown Rotary’ into 2nd century of service

One of Iowa's most active service organizations, the Rotary Club of Cedar Rapids, will celebrate its 100th anniversary Saturday.

The club, one of more than 34,000 Rotary clubs serving communities in over 200 countries and regions, held its first meeting on April 6, 1914, at the Montrose Hotel and received its official charter on June 1 of that year, becoming the 118th Rotary club in the world. Its charter president was Fred Fisher of Security Savings Bank. The world's first Rotary club, the Rotary Club of Chicago, formed just nine years earlier.

Nicknamed 'Downtown Rotary,” the Rotary Club of Cedar Rapids currently has more than 325 members, making it the largest Rotary club in Iowa and the 33rd largest in the world. Its members are business, professional and community leaders - men and women committed to improving lives and helping families both locally and internationally.

Recent club initiatives include supporting family farmers and growers in Liberia, providing clean water wells in Tanzania, and - closer to home - helping at-risk students at Metro High School, building playgrounds at local Title I elementary schools, and raising money for recreational and aesthetic improvements at Cedar Lake.

Many projects include support from the other six metro-area Rotary clubs in order to leverage resources and maximize impact, hallmarks of the Rotary approach to volunteer service. In recognition of the downtown club's centennial, the seven clubs recently worked together to raise more than $200,000 for the innovative NewBo City Market, which has revitalized a former industrial site just east of downtown.

As a global humanitarian organization, Rotary's top priority is the total eradication of the disabling disease polio, a goal now more than 99 percent achieved. The Cedar Rapids Rotary Club is a strong supporter of the fight to end polio, contributing more than $680,000 to date to the Rotary Foundation.

The April 26 anniversary celebration begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Hilton DoubleTree Hotel. The estimated 500 attendees will include Past Rotary International President Ray Klinginsmith, of Kirksville, Mo., 40 former club presidents and numerous past governors of Rotary District 5970, which supports 54 Rotary clubs in northeastern Iowa.

Keynote speaker is Rotary International General Secretary John Hewko. Hewko is essentially Rotary's CEO, directing a diverse staff of about 760 employees from Rotary International Headquarters in Evanston, Ill., in support of Rotary clubs worldwide. He is a charter member of the Rotary Club of Kyiv, the first established in Ukraine after the breakup of the Soviet Union.

After the centennial festivities, the men and women of the Rotary Club of Cedar Rapids will roll up their sleeves and get back doing what Rotarians do best: helping others. The club is proud to be entering its second century of service to the community and to the world.

Anyone interested in learning more about the club - and the rewards of Rotary membership - should visit rotaryclubofcedarrapids.org.

l Allen Witt is a principal at Hall & Hall Engineers, Hiawatha, and an instructor at Kirkwood Community College. On July 1, he will begin a one-year term as president of the Rotary Club of Cedar Rapids, which meets every Monday at noon at the Hilton DoubleTree. Comments: allen@halleng.com