Rotary Clubs in 166 countries of the world are celebrating the centennial of the service organization that began in Chicago on February 23, 1905. Rotary was formed by Paul P. Harris, an attorney who wished to recapture in a professional club the same friendly spirit he had felt in the small towns of his youth.

The Auburn Rotary Club received its charter from Rotary International on May 28, 1927. Founding members have names that will be familiar to Auburn residents, including: R. Dimmitt (our first club president, and dean of students at Alabama Polytechnic Institute), Wilbur Hutsell, Fred Allison, M. J. Funchess, C. L. Hare, Felton Little, S. L. Toomer, and C. S. Yarbrough. Being a service club, it is no surprise to note that committees in the new club included: Boys Work, Girl Scouts, Crippled Children, Business Methods, Public Schools, Civics, Fire, Rural-Urban, and Community Service.

From its humble 1927 beginnings, the Auburn Rotary Club touts more than 120 members from nearly every walk of business life in the Auburn community.

The focus on helping the Auburn community has not changed over the years, though the issues we face are different. This year the Auburn Rotary Club has made several efforts to address literacy and hunger in the area.

The Auburn Rotary Club has launched three initiatives to address literacy in the community. On February 23, 2004, we launched our centennial service project, “Babies Love Books.” As each newborn returns home from the East Alabama Medical Center, their parents take with them a package of books, literacy information, and opportunities for assistance in teaching their child to read. The project also stocks the EAMC's Pediatric Library with baskets of other children's books.

Children in the Auburn City Schools’ third-grade classes now receive a dictionary provided by the Auburn Rotary Club. More than 600 copies of a dictionary recommended by the local school system were distributed to students at the beginning of the school year.

Finally, the club has begun working with the Boys and Girls Club in Auburn to provide weekly assistance in their after-school tutoring program. The club also provides financial resources to help create a better learning environment for the children as they do their homework.

To help alleviate hunger in our community, the Auburn Rotary Club has worked with the Food Bank of East Alabama to provide 7,000 pounds of food to needy recipients on four occasions throughout the year through the Food Bank’s mobile food pantry. The club has also provided seed money to help the Food Bank to purchase a refrigerated truck that can deliver perishable, healthy food throughout its distribution area.

The Auburn Rotary Club also has a worldwide vision, working to achieve the dream of completely eradicating polio. An Auburn Rotarian was part of a vaccinating team using $247 million contributed to Rotary to this cause. The club has joined with other clubs in its central-Alabama district to generate $150,000 (once matched with Rotary Foundation funds) that will provide long-term support in tsunami-affected regions to refurbish schools and to grow food. The Auburn Rotary Club also has a long-standing tradition of creating international goodwill by sponsoring exchange teams of young professionals and students to visit our “loveliest village.”

Sincerely,
President Chris