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Steve Allan delivered this history, written by Bill Avery, at the May 14th dinner meeting honouring our club's presidents. This prediction of the future was included in a supportive letter to Bill Ardern in 1913 from Bill Pease, who was then the President of the Rotary Club of Toronto. Not long thereafter in 1914 some sixty prominent Calgary citizens were brought together to become the seventh chartered Rotary Club in Canada, just nine short years after the creation of Rotary itself in 1905. At the organization meeting held in the Elizabethan Room in the Hudson's Bay store, Jim Ryan became the first President of the Rotary Club of Calgary and Doug Howland the first Secretary Treasurer. Many of the other charter members went on to play prominent roles in the development of the Club and the town of Calgary. As predicted, Rotary has made a significant contribution to making Calgary a real town. It recognized the need to help the young boys whose fathers had gone off to war by creating the Boys Club. (Which later became the Boys and Girls Club). The Boys and Girls Club continues to be a relevant and vibrant organization with which we still have a strong relationship. Picnics were held for soldiers' families and hospital services were set up to care for the returning wounded. To help the battle weary, shipments of food and clothing were sent overseas. The battle cry of Rotary, "Service Above Self" has been evident since that time, in the more than one hundred years of community service undertaken by the Club. Through Rotary's urging, many early community organizations combined their fund raising "Tag Days" into one major fund raising effort and called it the "Community Chest" which still supports that same principle under the name United Way. Rotary itself gave up tag days and created many other ways to finance projects while enjoying community fellowship, but the start of United Way remains a high point in our history, and again is an incredibly relevant organization in our community with which we maintain a strong relationship. One of the earliest fellowship activities has been the barbeques during Stampede and the summer period, which over the years grew to be a major annual community function and fundraiser. We are currently reorganizing but, in the True Calgary Rotary Tradition, we continue to hold many barbeques to support the community. Years ago under the Chairmanship of Club member, Hayden Smith, Rotarians and other community leaders were instrumental in expanding the base of the Calgary Foundation by creating a million dollar dinner that launched the Foundation into prominence and its position as a strong advantage for our community. In our history, we count the substantial growth of the Calgary Foundation as one of the City's proudest accomplishments, of which Rotary played a major role. Over the years, just a few of the other programs of the Rotary Club of Calgary have been clean water and ambulances overseas, Stay In School, parks, eyesight saving programs, educational programs, support for suicide prevention, and women's shelters, and a commitment to various youth and Group Study exchange programs that will assure the presence of future leaders in many centers around the world. This is only a small sampling of projects we have supported through our Club. And I am going to also take advantage of my spot at this podium to mention Calgary Reads, which our Club has chosen to support through providing leadership advice, volunteer support and fund raising assistance. This is another terrific program which can have a huge impact on our community and is a great opportunity for Rotarians and members of their families to get engaged. To serve our community, our club has 24 different committees including, BBQ - Community Service - Major Donations - World Community Services - International Portfolio and twenty others - each with an active committee and each providing our Rotary Club resources fulfilling our motto of Service Above Self. To assure continued support for many projects, the Club along with other Calgary Rotary clubs, established the Calgary Rotary Clubs Foundation; a trust to which our members contribute and in turn our Clubs receive proceeds from investment income in support of our various projects. Our current Signature Legacy initiative under the stewardship of Howie Shikaze is the Community Hubs Program. We, along with the United Way of Calgary (which you will recall, we helped to initiate) and the City of Calgary, are sponsoring this program. Between 2017 and 2021 seven Community Hubs are being intentionally developed and activated in Calgary to increase social inclusion, economic participation and to reduce poverty. Over the years, Rotarians have established a formal presence in the development of the city itself. Rotarian Gordon Townsend is synonymous with the Children's Hospital. Four Rotarian members have served as Mayor of the City and others as Aldermen. The Calgary Exhibition and Stampede has had many Presidents from Rotary and hundreds of volunteers who are also Rotarians. Another prominent Rotarian, Dr George Kerby founded Mt. Royal College, Past R.I. Vice President Curly Galbraith, affectionately known to us as "Mr. Rotary", and other Club members have served on the Board of Directors or as Officers of Rotary International, including Bill Gant, Jeffrey Lydiatt, Glen Peacock, Doug Howland, and the dynamic Jim Davidson. Jim Davidson spread the word of Rotary throughout the world contributing his time and personal finances to one of the most successful Rotary Promotion development initiatives that Rotary International has ever seen. Throughout our history, Club members have been focused on fellowship as well as contributing to the community's well-being. The men and women members of Rotary have been strong supporters of every "fun" project especially at the BBQ's, and, fondly remembered from the past, the famous Rotary Shows that until recently, were an integral part of the Club since the first Minstrel show at the Grand Theatre in 1919. A healthy combination of dedication, enthusiasm and fellowship give the Rotary Club its personality and has made it what it is today. One of the most significant partnerships of long standing that have benefited both the partners, the community, and history, has been the relationship between the Rotary Club of Calgary and the Palliser Hotel. With the exception of the first few Club organizational meetings in 1913 and 1914 held in Cronn's Restaurant and the Elizabethan Room of the Hudson's Bay Store, the Club chose the prestigious Palliser Hotel for its regular Tuesday noon luncheon meetings and has continued to meet in the Palliser Hotel, now the Fairmont Palliser. Today, the Rotary Club of Calgary Downtown, along with other Rotary Clubs across North America, is living in an environment of enormous change. But just as Rotary has played a vital role in our community for the past 105 years, we have a vital and critical role to play in a changing Calgary. Tonight as we create a special evening celebrating our Presidents, we are in fact celebrating achievements of the past and calling on the will of our members. The strength of the club today and in the future, just as has been the case for the past 105 years, is reliant on the strength and determination of our members to contribute to our Club and in so doing to continue to help build our community. |
