Welcome

 

Ralph B. Dennis, then Dean of the Northwestern University School of Speech, is credited with founding the Evanston Rotary chapter of Rotary International in 1920.

 

The first organizational meeting and committee included Evanston residents Joe Pearson, George Tomlinson, Ernest Tittle, and Ed Ladd. From this first meeting came a total list of twenty-five members (all male) representing twenty professions in Evanston.

 

The first formal meeting of the club took place on April 27, 1920 at the North Shore Hotel.

 

During the meeting, the first officers were elected, the initiation and annual dues were set ($10 and $20, respectively), and the next meeting place agreed upon (again, at the North Shore Hotel). Its regular meeting time of Thursdays at 12:15 p.m. has never changed over the course of a century. 

 

When the club received its official charter from Rotary International, on May 1, 1920, it became the 734th group to be recognized by the parent organization. It was part of a rapidly growing global movement, with clubs being established all over the world. 

 

By the end of the club’s first year, membership had grown to fifty-three members, and, by 1975 had increased to 150. 

 

Most Rotary clubs in the United States are  much smaller today than they were in the 1960s and 1970s, and today the Rotary Club of Evanston's membership typically hovers around 50, made up of individuals from a diverse range of local businesses and organizations. 

 

When the headquarters of Rotary International moved to Evanston in the 1950s, the club gained special distinction, and over the years, many of Rotary's top executives were either honorary or formal members. The club's location in Evanston has afforded it many visitors from international Rotary clubs -- who visit local club meetings while they are in town on Rotary International business.

 

In addition, as one of the larger and more active clubs in Rotary District 6440 -- which stretches from Chicago to the Wisconsin border and west to St. Charles --  the club has had many District leaders and has hosted three of the District's annual meetings (1926, 1938, and 1960). The club has also had members who were involved at high levels of Rotary's global leadership -- including service on Rotary International's Board of Directors. 

 

Like most clubs, the strength of Rotary of Evanston rests on the attendance of its members. An early deterrent for absenteeism from the club included fines for being both late or absent. The practice of taking rolls and requiring “make-up” attendance at meetings continued for many years, as well, and some Evanston Rotarians prided themselves on achieving "perfect" attendance over many years -- not missing a single weekly meeting. Today, the use of fines has been discontinued and attendance rules have been relaxed in order to accommodate the busy schedules of members.  

 

Rotary was an organization for men in its early years, but women began joining in the 1980s and are active and important members of the organization today.  More than 1,000 men and women have been active members during the Rotary Club of Evanston's first 100 years. 

For most of its history, the club met at the North Shore Hotel on Chicago Avenue in Evanston, which today is the Merion Senior Community. In 2013, the club moved its meetings to the Rotary International building, at the corner of Sherman and Grove, where its members meet every Thursday at 12:15 p.m.

 

The purpose of the first Rotary Club, founded by Paul Harris in Chicago in 1905, was to make it possible for people from diverse professions to have a common place to meet, discuss, and act upon community issues, in the spirit of Rotary's motto -- "service above self."

 

The Rotary Club of Evanston has accomplished this goal over the years by creating scholarships/fellowships for local and international students, providing grants and funding to local not-for-profit organizations, serving as a forum and gathering place for community leaders, and sponsoring special events. It provides generous scholarships on a yearly basis to graduating Evanston Township High School students, along with funding a variety of other local and international civic improvement projects.

 

For years, the club organized an event known as "Youth Days," benefiting youth, and participated in the World’s Largest Garage Sale, a citywide event held every year in downtown Evanston. More recently it has hosted events such as its annual PizzaFest and Holiday Benefit. The funds it raises for causes in Evanston are distributed through the Rotary Club of Evanston Charitable Fund, a 501(C)(3) organization the club founded in 1993.

 

The Charitable Fund has also supported the club's international projects, which have included efforts in Kenya, Guatemala, Haiti and many other countries. 

 

The club also actively raises funds for Rotary International's longstanding effort to eliminate polio -- a massive global effort that has distributed billions of dollars in this important public health campaign. When the project began in the 1980s, there were more than 300,000 cases of polio worldwide every year. Today, there are just a handful of cases, each year active in only three countries -- and the disease has nearly been eradicated.

 

The club also maintains the Rotary International Friendship Garden, open to the public and located within the Ladd Arboretum on McCormick Blvd. in Evanston. Planting in the Friendship Garden began in 1961, with trees and plants donated from countries around the world to symbolize international peace and understanding. Since the first tree was planted in 1961, more than 100 trees have been dedicated to nations around the world. 

In 2019, the club announced a new multi-year initiative aimed at addressing the issue of food insecurity in Evanston. The club formed a task force and has begun raising funds and coordinating efforts with other local organizations.