The Rotary Clubs of Chicago (ROTARY/One), New York City, Hartford, Tacoma and Wichita immediately got on board and the single page became a separate website at  with history pages for each club.

With the constant help of the other four founders, John, the Public Relations professional, had created a public relations project for his club that had turned into something much larger.

John didn’t know that there was a need for the preservation of the History, he just knew there wasn’t much Rotary history on the Internet. He didn’t realize that his listing of fifty clubs would turn into a world wide project with hundred of contributors, over 500 clubs listed, every president, convention and facet of Rotary in less than three years time. He was just trying to raise awareness of the early clubs since few people actually knew who they were.

Well, our boy John is no dummy. The more he tried to improve the quality of his website history presentation, the more he heard from Rotarians around the world. The centennial was coming, and as clubs became interested in his work, he rapidly expanded his scope. He began to read the History and the writing of Paul Harris. In no time at all, he came to learn that this “Man in the Medallion ^TM” was no ordinary man, but a man for our times. In Jack Selway’s words, “An uncommon man who took common ideals, as a painter uses common colors and shapes, and created something of tremendous value to the world.”

Shamelessly, John approached clubs and districts to provide more and better history contributions to the project. Everyone who communicated with him was asked for history help and then sponsorship. If all else failed, he talked them into putting a link on their websites to the project. But, his historical knowledge base was expanding. He soon learned that certain UK clubs, formed in 1911, would be left out if the list ended at "50." As more and more correspondents mentioned the approaching "100" year celebration, the project quickly became a much larger website with pages for each of the 100 clubs.

The historical knowledge base expanded further. Soon, a researcher for the growing project discovered that club #100 had company. Five other clubs were arbitrarily assigned numbers that same day. How could you limit the project to 100 clubs when there were actually 105? And volunteers asked, “What about the milestone clubs?” So, it wasn’t long before John added the clubs listed in the appendix to the first printing of "My Road to Rotary." The eight new club listings included numbers 200, 300, 400, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000 and 5000.

John was convinced that the only worthwhile history in Rotary was contained in the first 50 years, starting with Paul Harris, and ending with Herb Taylor. Expanding knowledge added a special section for the "First 100" clubs in Canada and also in the UK. Rotarians dropped in and out of the project like an inveterate jigsaw puzzle addict tries to fit pieces into a puzzle. Key people around the world became board members of the project, and really special ones became his Executive Committee.

And the more that he and his board studied, the greater the need for accuracy, fact checking and documentation of sources. Then, suddenly one Tuesday morning in September of 2001, everything changed. The tragedy of 9-11 occupied the entire project for several months and the letters from that effort were meticulously posted.

As the shock of the horror subsided, members of the history fellowship’s committee slowly began to research and write again. They would never forget, but resumed the day-to-day aspects of the project. While no one can pinpoint the exact moment when John realized that the Centennial of Rotary meant that there would soon be 100 years of meaningful history, everyone involved in the project is convinced that the events of 9-11 played more than an insignificant part.

Now John and his board began to act with one voice. A piece of research was contributed that included every Rotary president and photo, home club, convention, convention attendance and convention host club, theme (if they had one) and the theme graphics (if it were available). It was seized upon by John and the Board, becoming a focal point in the continuation of the expansion of the History.

The club part of the project, became www.clubhistories.org. Sites were added that start to tell the histories of Women in Rotary and The Rotary Foundation. Expansion has spread from the collection of history to the quality and quantity of historians and researchers and even to the Board.

In 2003, a group of clubs in District 4150 (Mexico), led by Carlos Garcia Calzada, began the first major translation for our "Language Communities." On 3 October 2003 the Board of Rotary International approved the project as an official fellowship of Rotary. Also, in February of 2003, John was interviewed on the internet radio program, then called "Rotary Radio" and he was joined by past RI president and history project supporter, Cliff Dochterman.

And what of Jack Selway? He continues to pour his time, talent and money into the project. John also speaks at clubs, district conferences and zone institutes. Why? John, who has become one of the foremost scholars of Paul Harris in the world, says, “Rotary’s true potential will only be realized when Rotarians learn again, who they really are. The wisdom of our past is one of the great tools for our future.” 

Doug Rudman (former chairman of the History Fellows and Executive Vice President of the project.) Selway is a member of Rotary eClub of the Southwest USA,  is an honorary member of RGHF,  Chairman Emeritus, Executive Vice President, and Managing Webmaster.