Rotary
Club of Charleston active since 1920s
Members have been leading community for decades
From
the Introduction to "Service
Above Self: A History of the Rotary Club of Charleston -- 1920 -
2004," published Feb. 2005.
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As
Rotary International celebrates a century of global service in 2005,
Charlestonians should be proud of the thousands of local Rotarians
who have provided decades of service to the community.
The
Rotary Club of Charleston, the father of six clubs in the Lowcountry,
got its start in 1920 thanks to the efforts of T. Wilbur "Buddy"
Thornhill and Louis C. Fischer.
Thornhill
had, in 1914, tried to form a club, but couldn't get the help he
needed from Charleston's Chamber of Commerce, according to Club
records. After his service in World War I, however, a newly-invigorated
Thornhill reinforced efforts to start a local service club that
could give back to the community.
About
the same time, Fischer became interested in forming a local Rotary
Club. An active Shriner, Fischer met Rotary founder Paul Harris
when in Chicago for a Shrine convention. Upon returning to South
Carolina, Fischer had a detailed plan to organize a club.
On
Feb. 3, 1920, Thornhill, Fischer and 20 other businessmen held their
charter meeting. A month later, the Rotary Club of Charleston officially
was chartered. It was the ninth club formed in South Carolina and
the 624th Rotary Club ever formed.
In
the 85 years since that first meeting, the Club has attracted major
civic leaders from Harris, pilot Amelia Earhart and Rotary International
presidents to major political leaders, such as presidential candidates
George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain.
More
importantly though, Club members have contributed hundreds of thousands
of dollars to local projects and have provided leadership that led
to real ways to help people. Among the local institutions that the
Rotary Club of Charleston helped to start are the Coastal Community
Foundation, the local Boy Scouts movement and the distinctive Charleston
Rotary Fund, which contributes to many admirable causes and awards
scholarships.
Throughout
this book, you'll find hundreds of examples of outstanding community
service. Nestled between, you'll occasionally find the odd tidbit.
For instance, the Club paid for its president in 1947 to attend
the Rotary International Convention. But while there, he sent a
letter of resignation as president and never returned to Charleston!
No
work like this would have been possible without the diligent record-keeping
and archiving of past club historians and secretaries. In particular,
the late Rucker Newbery and still-active Jerry Nuss should be singled
out for much of the information in the yearly reports you'll find
on the pages that follow. Also to be thanked are the outstanding
team of contributing editors who honed information gathered over
the years into a better product. They include David Abel, Bob Baldwin,
Amy Jenkins, Peter Lucash, John Milkereit and, of course, Jerry
Nuss.
The
Charleston that Rotarians faced daily when the Club began eight
decades ago is vastly different than today's high-speed, inter-connected
business environment that sometimes seems to devalue relationships
and people.
But
today's Rotarians in Charleston share the same community zeal that
founders had that inspired generations of "Service Above Self."
Reading through these 85 years of Rotary's contributions to Charleston,
members can take pride in the Club's accomplish-ments and how it
has helped to improve people's lives. More importantly, the stories
in this book can rouse Charleston's current and future Rotarians
to do even more for the community in the years to come.
-
Andrew C. Brack
General editor and director of the Rotary Club of Charleston
January 2005
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