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.

East Hampton Rotary was formed on January 11, 1943 at the Kayrock Inn with 23 business and community leaders:

Many of these names are synonymous with the town of East Hampton and its many great contributions to society. The first regular meeting was held with all 23 members present. The speaker was Wesley Fesler, Althetic Director at Wesleyan University. The club voted to be host to all local servicemen home on leave and any others who might be visiting. It was voted to hold all meetings of this club on Wednesday's and so it has been for over 80 years!

 

For those 80+ years, the club has been a premier service club in East Hampton, working closely with the Lions Club, Anchor Lodge, Junior Women's Club and other organizations for the benefit of East Hampton and its residents.

 

In 2014, the club received the prestigious Pettengill Award as the outstanding club in district 7980.

 

Fundraising to enable the club to participate in projects has taken many forms over the years, from dances in the fifties and sixties to annual car raffles, golf outings, rose sales and community appeals. The car raffle is tightly integrated with Old Home Days, and has been a fixture in our community for almost 40 years.

 

These funds have enabled numerous service projects over the years, from the playscape and pavilion at Sears Park to community outreach programs, the K9 program for our local police department, and the distribution of more than $500,000 in scholarships to graduating high school students in our community. We are honored to host Breakfast with Santa each year, which helps raise funds and food for the Food Bank in town and regularly feeds over 1000 people. In the late eighties, president at the time Dave Shulman created our Interact Club at the high school. The club has thrived for nearly 40 years, participating in many worthwhile projects, the signature one being the Turkey Plunge, which regularly raises over $40,000 for the food and fuel bank in early November each year.

 

East Hampton Rotary has a saying made famous by the club's (and town's!) heart and soul, Red McKinney. “East Hampton Rotary is the best club… Bar None!”

 

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