Salisbury Rotary Club celebrates 75th anniversary

SALISBURY — The Rotary Club of Salisbury celebrated its 75th anniversary with a dinner at Noble Horizons Saturday, Oct. 26.

Randy Chapell provided background on Rotary International, which was founded in 1905 in Chicago by Paul Harris, an attorney, mining engineer Gustave Loehr, Silvester Schiele, a coal dealer, and Hiram E. Shorey, a tailor.

Before the speeches Chapell was asked about what “rotary” refers to. He said the original four members rotated their meetings between their respective offices.

The mission of Rotary International: “We provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through our fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders.”

Or as Chapell put it, the Rotary founders’ goal was “to find ways to help people.”

He said since 1917 the Rotary Foundation has raised and donated some $4 billion, with 91% of the money going to the stated cause or purpose. “We have very low overhead.”

Rotary International is known for its efforts to eradicate polio, starting with a vaccination program in the Philippines in 1979.

Chapell said the program was successful, so in 1985 Rotary International took it world-wide, providing 2.5 billion children with the polio vaccine since 1979.

This has reduced polio infections 99.9%, Chapell said. The two countries remaining on Rotary’s list are Afghanistan and Pakistan, where political difficulties hamper such efforts.

Salisbury Rotary Club President Paul Ramunni said the club has done a lot of good work for Salisbury and environs, including scholarships for college and trade school.

Over the 75 years of the club’s existence, it has raised and used over $1 million.

“When you pile it up it’s amazing,” he said, citing donations to local food pantry, disaster relief, and donations to local nonprofits.

He read a list of names of club members from 1999. Several, including himself, were in the room.

“These are all people deeply embedded in the community.”

He ended his remarks with an appeal for new members.

The club meets weekly. “It’s only an hour,” he said cheerfully. “It’s therapeutic!”