History

The Rotary Club of South Ocean (RCSO/the Club) evolved from a discussion between a then non-Rotarian by the name of Eric Strachan and the Past President ("PP") of another established Rotary club on the island of New Providence by the name of Valentino Hamilton. During May 2020 PP Valentino Hamilton took the proverbial baton and ran with the idea and involved another non-Rotarian by the name of Zelma Wilson and a past Assistant Governor of Rotary District 7020 by the name of Mario Smith. During June 2020, after initial discussions, PP Valentino, Eric, Zelma and PAG Mario officially began meeting to plan the formation of the Club, this occurred in the midst of onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in The Bahamas. The then Proposed Rotary Club of South Ocean held its first information session on 13 August 2020. Subsequently, the core team expanded and another then non-Rotarian by the name of Margaret Smith and a past Rotarian by the name of Kathy Smith joined the small team. On 3 September 2020 the Proposed Rotary Club of South Ocean held its first public meeting via Zoom focused on the topic: “COVID-19 Impact on Private Healthcare in The Bahamas and Dennis Deveaux, the Chief Financial Officer of Doctors Hospital, was the first guest speaker. Through the efforts of the core team, the Rotary Club of South Ocean was officially chartered by Rotary International on February 17, 2021 and commenced with thirty-three charter members. The initial RCSO Board of Directors were: Charter President: Zelma Wilson, President Elect/Service Project Chairperson: Damara Dillett, Secretary: Erica Culmer-Curry, Assistant Secretary: Dava Bullard, Treasurer: Margaret Smith, Membership Chairperson: Andre Gibson, Rotary Foundation Chairperson: Valentino Hamilton, Club Administration Chairperson: Indy Thompson, Fundraising Chairperson: Eric Strachan, Public Image/Relations Chairperson: Asline Blanc, Fellowship Chairperson: Erica Ferguson, Literacy Director: Kathy Smith.  RCSO became the tenth Rotary Club to be chartered in The Bahamas! Initial corporate sponsors of RCSO were: Equity Bank and Trust Bahamas Limited, Cornèr Bank (Overseas) Ltd., CBH Bahamas Ltd. and PwC. 

 

 

“WHATEVER ROTARY MAY MEAN TO US, TO THE WORLD IT WILL BE KNOWN BY THE RESULTS IT ACHIEVES.”

Our 1.2 million-member organization started with the vision of one man—Paul P. Harris. The Chicago attorney formed one of the world’s first service organizations, the Rotary Club of Chicago, on 23 February 1905 as a place where professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas and form meaningful, lifelong friendships. Rotary’s name came from the group’s early practice of rotating meetings among the offices of each member.

Rotarians have not only been present for major events in history—we’ve been a part of them. From the beginning, three key traits have remained strong throughout Rotary:

We’re truly international. Only 16 years after being founded, Rotary had clubs on six continents. Today we’re working together from around the globe both digitally and in-person to solve some of our world’s most challenging problems.

We persevere in tough times. During WWII, Rotary clubs in Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, and Japan were forced to disband. Despite the risks, many continued to meet informally and following the war’s end, Rotary members joined together to rebuild their clubs and their countries.

Our commitment to service is ongoing. We began our fight against polio in 1979 with a project to immunize 6 million children in the Philippines. By 2012, only three countries remain polio-endemic—down from 125 in 1988.

Rotarians are your neighbors, your community leaders and some of the world’s greatest history-makers: 

Ready to make history with us? Get involved.