Brief histories of Rotary's First 100 Clubs

Rotary Club of New Orleans #12

Rotary International District 6840

Host of the 1976 Convention

Host Club of the 2011 Convention

NOLA Rotary, Briefly:

A Little History of  The Rotary Club of New Orleans #12

 The Rotary Club of New Orleans was formed on February 23, 1910 during a meeting held at 232 North Peters Street.

    On April 26, 1910, with a membership of 40, the Rotary Club of New Orleans officially became the 12th Rotary Club organized in the world.  The weekly meetings begin at 12:12 pm in honor of this.

     As the City of New Orleans expanded into the suburbs, the Rotary Club of New Orleans sponsored being formed outside the New Orleans business district.  From the New Orleans Club were born the Westbank Rotary Club in 1953, the Rotary Club of Metairie in 1957 and the Rotary Clubs of East New Orleans and Carrollton in 1959.

    Throughout its history, the Rotary Club of New Orleans has been a service organization.

    In 1915, the Rotary Club of New Orleans hosted 200 confederate veterans at the movie Birth of a Nation.  It also sponsored Blind Golfers Tournaments in 1972, 1979, 1986 and 1993.

    The Rotary Club of New Orleans participates in many community projects.  You can find members painting and scrapping houses in blighted neighborhoods, painting classrooms in schools, volunteering at the public parks and public television stations and tutoring at the public schools, to name a few.  Internationally, the Club raises funds to help bring medical assistance to impoverished areas around the world.

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

See our delegation at Rotary's 2nd convention in Portland, Oregon, USA in 1911. A rare, early Rotary Global History photo.

• Read about the 1893 New Orleans Storm that nearly ended Rotary, when it nearly killed Rotary's Founder.

• Read the Rotary International story about the devastating storm of 2005