On
June 1, 1913, the International Association of Rotary Clubs granted
charters to three Rotary clubs in Texas. The triplets were
Beaumont,
Galveston
and Waco, and they received charters 72, 73 and 74, as the clubs
were listed alphabetically. The Waco club was organized
on May 23, 1913, and chartered one week later with a membership of
eleven.
On June 10, 1913,
Waco joined the other Texas clubs in Galveston at a
joint meeting of all
the clubs in
Texas,
with Waco Rotarians part of the nearly 750 who attended.
Incorporated into a district almost immediately, the first
District Conference was held in
Waco on November 1,
1915 in the Retail Merchants Association offices in the Amicable
Building. District Governor Richardson and delegates from 10 of the 13
Clubs
in Texas attended, along with RI President Allen D. Albert, from
Minneapolis,
and a Vice President from Houston. The tickets for the informal banquet
at the conference cost Waco Rotarians $1.00, and the delegates and
international officers were guests of the club.
Throughout its 89-year
history, the Rotary Club of Waco has earned the respect and admiration
of the City of Waco. In 1916, when it was three years old, the club
helped to establish the Waco Working Boys Club. From the inception,
service by the individual Rotarian, at the community level, was stressed
by the club. Not surprising, 37 members have served as mayor of the City
of Waco through the years, and 55 different members have been elected
presiding officer of the Waco Chamber of Commerce. Hundreds of members
have provided leadership for all major civic endeavors.
The club has also
supplied leadership for
Rotary District 5870 and its predecessors, with four District
Governors: T. D. Brooks, Hubert Johnson, Jack H. Dillard and Pat
Taggart.
The club has grown into
a strong force of 350 outstanding business and professional men
and women who live or work within the city. United in the spirit of
service, the members join together each week at the club's meetings to
enjoy fellowship and participate in the club’s activities.
Besides the Waco Working Boys Club project, youth service has
been a major activity of the club, including its Youth Citizenship Award
project. Playgrounds, baseball fields, a therapeutic swimming pool, and
countless other landmarks throughout the city manifest the club's
continuing concern and interest in young people.
More than $300,000 has
been used from the club's Rotary Youth Service Fund, Inc. to provide
capital improvements, recreational equipment, clothing, meals, supplies,
awards, and incidental expenses for youths and youth-oriented
institutions and organizations. Over $96,900 has been invested in
scholarships for 127 college students of McLennan County from the
Waco Rotary Club Scholarship Fund. A special Hearing Aid Fund
was active for many years to provide and maintain hearing aids for
children of the county with defective hearing.
Three current annual
projects deserve special note because two of them have been recognized
by Rotary International with "Significant Achievement Awards."
Funding for each of them comes from the club's Rotary Youth Service
Fund, to which members contribute each year to support all of the club's
youth activities.
The popular television
series called "Challenge" was initiated in 1967 to recognize
academically talented area high school students. The project celebrated
its 35th season in 2002. Over $78,000 has been spent on the project
which has featured 2,136 high school students on 534 teams.
In 1978, the club began
its successful Leadership In Free Enterprise (L.I.F.E.) project
to educate and motivate high school students on the advantages of the
private enterprise system. Over 1,200 young people of McLennan County
and the Rotary District have participated in the event, and the club has
invested over $118,000 from the Youth Service Fund in the project.
The Youth Citizenship
Award project is designed to recognize outstanding McLennan County high
school graduating seniors for their good citizenship and their
willingness to serve others. Twenty-two "Outstanding Young Citizens of
McLennan County" have been named, and 460 students have been honored
since the project started in 1981 at a cost of almost $75,000.
To date, thirty-six
students endorsed by the club have been selected by the Trustees of The
Rotary Foundation of Rotary International to study abroad on
ambassadorial scholarship awards. The club has contributed almost
$240,000 to support the programs of The Rotary Foundation including the
PolioPlus Campaign to inoculate children all over the world against
polio. As of 2002, the club has 155 Paul Harris Fellows; 66 Paul Harris
Sustaining Members; and three Benefactors of The Rotary Foundation of
Rotary International
More than $22,000 in
funds and tuition fees were given by the club to support the District's
International Student Project, and the club hosted twenty-two
international students as they attended Baylor University while
participating in the project. Doug Rudman
A Wheel That Keeps
Turning, an essay by former Waco Rotarian and RGHF historian Joe
Kagle
