On the eve of the 100th anniversary of the Rotary International Foundation next year, the Gainesville Rotary Club announced that all 182 members have committed to contributing $1,000 or more to the foundation.
The achievement, which was celebrated at the civic club’s June 20 meeting, officially designates the Gainesville Rotary Club as a 100% Paul Harris Fellow Rotary Club. Paul Harris, a Chicago attorney, founded the Rotary International civic club in 1905.
The Rotary Foundation funds Rotary efforts to achieve worldwide understanding and peace through humanitarian, educational and cultural exchange programs.
“This is a tremendous achievement, particularly for a large club like ours,” said Lee Highsmith, current president of the 93-year-old Gainesville Rotary Club. “We are only the 30th club in our North Georgia district to reach this historic milestone.”
Through its history, the Gainesville Rotary Club has contributed nearly a half-million dollars to the Rotary Foundation. This year alone, club members have already contributed $42,227 to the foundation.
“We are a club of big hearts,” said Bill St. Clair, a Gainesville Rotarian and former Rotary District Governor. “In addition to our international giving, our club supports a number of community needs such as our wheelchair-ramp construction project, and we contribute thousands of dollars to numerous local charities every year.”
St. Clair said the Gainesville Rotary Club recently received a congratulatory letter from Ray Klinginsmith, international chairman of the Rotary Foundation, for reaching the 100 percent Paul Harris Fellow milestone.
Rotary International operates in over 200 countries throughout the world. The organization’s annual convention will be held next year in Atlanta, where the Rotary Foundation was founded in 1917 with an initial contribution of $26.50.
Photo cutline: Gainesville Rotary president Lee Highsmith and grandson Rowan Highsmith celebrate her civic organization’s charitable milestone designation as a Paul Harris Fellow Club.
