The Rotary Club of Cookeville, Tennessee, had its organizational meeting on Tuesday evening, October 8, 1935. The meeting was held in the basement of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. In addition to fifteen local citizens, Rotarians from Jackson, Murfreesboro, Nashville, and Birmingham, Alabama attended. The president of the sponsoring Rotary Club of Murfreesboro, presided over the meeting.

Hugh Goodpasture was elected president; Gid Lowe, vice president; and C. V. Bruner, secretary-treasurer. These three officers, together with Cooper Loftis, Max Winningham, Elmer Langford, and Sam Pendergrass, comprised the board of directors.

At the time of the granting of the charter, the membership of the club was composed of twenty-one "charter members." They were as follows: C. V. Bruner, Charles Bryan, Charles Cox, George Davidson, W. C. Davis, Hugh Goodpasture, W. J. Holladay, Lester King, Elmer Langford, Cooper Loftis, Gid Lowe, Roger Manning, Louis McDowell, Sam Pendergrass, Tillman Phillips, Thurman Shipley, David Terry, Fred Terry, Clyde Vaughn, Will Whitaker, and Max Winningham.

"Charter Night" was observed on the evening of January 23, 1936.