Stories

At the recent year end/beginning celebration of The Rotary Club of D7390 Passport, members Karen Tillman, Paul Brunski, Beth Chesnut and Gena Hudson were recognized with Paul Harris Fellow Awards.  The PHF recognition is one of Rotary International's highest honors recognizing individuals who have contributed $1,000 or more- or have had that amount donated in their name- to support The Foundation’s humanitarian, educational, and peace building programs around the world.

Then, an extra-special award was presented to 2025-2026 President, Karen Anthony and Club Foundation Chair, Paul Duryea by Rotary District Governor M.B. Brunski and Kathleen Stoup, the District Rotary Foundation Chair. The Rotary Club of D7390 Passport Club is now considered a "100% Paul Harris Fellow Club".  This one-time award is given to clubs where ALL of the members are PHF members showing their collective dedication to Rotary's ideals and support of The Rotary Foundation.

The Passport Club hopes this tradition is a continual one and that the recognition brings light and further support of The Rotary Foundation in our district.  They are proud of all the humanitarian projects, educational programs, disaster relief efforts, and the global campaign to eradicate polio.

This honor recognizing the commitment to The Foundation furthers the mission of “Service Above Self” and was certainly a great way to end and begin a new Rotary year for Passport’s Members, Visiting Rotarians, and Guests alike!

Passport members, owner of LaPerla LLC and Verhovay Home Association teamed up to do some alley clean-up behind South 29th Street in Harrisburg on Saturday, April 25th. Teamwork Certainly Makes the Dream Work!

Grow Rotary by Learning Best Practices from District 7620!The District Membership Committee is pleased to host another educational opportunity where clubs can learn best practices for growing and retaining members. On Tuesday January 23^rd at 6:30 PM a 30-minute presentation followed by time for questions will feature three speakers from District 7620 which is located in the Washington DC area.  To get the Zoom link click here to register! The presentation will be recorded and posted on the District 7390 You Tube Channel for On Demand viewing. 

An estimated 500 million people worldwide became infected. Many cities closed theaters and cinemas, and placed restrictions on public gatherings. Rotary clubs adjusted their activities while also helping the sick.

This is how Rotary responded to the influenza pandemic that began in 1918 and came in three waves, lasting more than a year.

The Rotary Club of Berkeley, California, USA, meets in John Hinkel Park during the 1918 flu pandemic.

Photo by Edwin J. McCullagh, 1931-32 club president. Courtesy of the Rotary Club of Berkeley.

Rotary and the United Nations have a shared history of working toward peace and addressing humanitarian issues around the world.

During World War II, Rotary informed and educated members about the formation of the United Nations and the importance of planning for peace. Materials such as the booklet “From Here On!” and articles in The Rotarian helped members understand the UN before it was formally established and follow its work after its charter. 

Many countries were fighting the war when the term “United Nations” was first used officially in the 1942 “Declaration by United Nations.” The 26 nations that signed it pledged to uphold the ideals expressed by the United States and the United Kingdom the previous year of the common principles “on which they based their hopes for a better future for the world.” 

Every hero has an origin story. “I was 10 years old when the entire journey started,” explains Binish Desai. It began with a cartoon called Captain Planet, an animated TV series from the 1990s about an environmentalist with superpowers. Desai can still recite the show’s refrain: Captain Planet, he’s our hero / Gonna take pollution down to zero! “That tagline stuck in my mind,” he says. “I wanted to do something to help Captain Planet.”

In early 1919, Rotarian Roger Pinneo of Seattle, Washington, USA, traveled to the Philippines to try to organize a Rotary club in Manila. Leon J. Lambert, a Manila business leader helped Pinneo establish the club. Several months later, on 1 June 1919, the Rotary Club of Manila was chartered and became the first Rotary club in Asia.

The club would be the only one in the country for more than 12 years. Eventually, Manila club members organized Rotary clubs in the Philippine cities of Cebu (1932) and Iloilo (1933). Iloilo club members then started a club in Bacolod (1937), and Rotary continued to expand across the country.