Brief histories of the "First 100" Clubs

Rotary Club of Minneapolis 9 1910

Rotary International District 5950

Rotary Global History Fellowship Day award February 2010

Rotary Club of Minneapolis is one of the oldest in the nation, receiving its charter on 18 February 1910.  

 

(the photo to the left is a 1910 city shot, click on it to enlarge it)

 

In early 1910, a group of Chicago Rotarians drove to Minneapolis hoping to start a Rotary club. There had been some great success on the West Coast and the Chicago Rotarians had not yet had a "hands on" experience at starting a club. So this was an adventure. Making it more interesting was that some businesses men "next door" in St. Paul heard about this meeting and they wanted in too. History records that St. Paul's charter, #10 is one day after Minneapolis.

 

Today, RC of Minneapolis is also one of the largest, with over 300 members.  More importantly, Club #9 is known for its outstanding programs, friendliness, and deep commitment to inner city youth development.

 

Minneapolis, along with sister club St. Paul, was one of 14 clubs to attend the first meeting of Rotary Clubs 15-17 August 1910 where 60 Rotarians met and formed the "National Association of Rotary Clubs" with Paul P. Harris, of Chicago, as the first president.

Rotary Club of Oakland's "Rotarily Yours" contains the following from the 1911 Portland convention.  

"In addition the Portland meeting furnished Rotarians with the phrase 'He Profits Most Who Serves Best.' Arthur Frederick Sheldon of Chicago used the catchwords in a talk before cheering delegates. (149 Registrants) On the heels of Art Sheldon's axiom came another by B. Frank Collins, president of the Rotary Club of Minneapolis, 'Service, Not Self,' which Collins repeated again and again in his address that was constantly interrupted by thunderous applause."

Minneapolis Rotarian, Allen D. Albert was president of the International Association of Rotary Clubs in 1915.  In 1915, the Rotary Club of Havana, Cuba, became the first non-English-speaking Rotary club as well as the first Rotary club in Latin America and the Caribbean. In 1940 the international Convention was held in Havana.

Records from San Francisco #2, in their book "Seventy-Five Years in San Francisco, indicate that The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International was formally approved at the 1928 convention in Minneapolis. It was the first of two conventions for Minneapolis and 9,428 Rotarians attended that first one in `28. The most recent Minneapolis convention was a joint convention with St. Paul and saw 10,015 Rotarians attend in 1974.

 

See the delegates to the first convention of Rotary in 1910, in Chicago when the National Association of Rotary Clubs was formed. Minneapolis was a forming club and was there.

See our delegation, including Frank Collins, author of "Service above Self" at Rotary's 2nd convention in Portland, Oregon, USA in 1911. A rare, early Rotary Global History photo.

Minnesota's 100's

Rotary Club of Minneapolis 9

Rotary Club of St. Paul 10

Rotary Club of Duluth 25