History

“WHATEVER ROTARY MAY MEAN TO US, TO THE WORLD IT WILL BE KNOWN BY THE RESULTS IT ACHIEVES.”

—PAUL P. HARRIS

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.

OUR ONGOING COMMITMENT

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.

NOTABLE ROTARIANS

Rotarians are your neighbors, your community leaders and some of the world’s greatest history-makers: 
  • Warren G. Harding, U.S. president
  • Jean Sibelius, Finnish composer
  • Dr. Charles H. Mayo, co-founder of Mayo Clinic
  • Guglielmo Marconi, Italian inventor of the wireless radio and Nobel laureate
  • Thomas Mann, German novelist and Nobel laureate
  • Friedrich Bergius, German chemist and Nobel laureate
  • Admiral Richard E. Byrd, American explorer
  • Jan Masaryk, foreign minister of Czechoslovakia
  • H.E. Soleiman Frangieh, president of Lebanon
  • Dianne Feinstein, U.S. senator
  • Manny Pacquaio, Filipino world-champion boxer and congressman
  • Richard Lugar, U.S. senator
  • Frank Borman, American astronaut
  • Edgar A. Guest, American poet and journalist
  • Sir Harry Lauder, Scottish entertainer
  • Franz Lehar, Austrian composer
  • Lennart Nilsson, Swedish photographer
  • James Cash Penney, founder of JC Penney Co.
  • Carlos Romulo, UN General Assembly president
  • Sigmund Sternberg, English businessman and philanthropist
Ready to make history with us? Get involved. 
 
 
Rotary Club of Key Largo
Club History

January 24, 1990 was the first meeting as provisional club, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Upper Keys of which J. Allison DeFoor II was President. The meeting was held in Key Largo at the Holiday Inn.

March 3, 1990 - Formal application for Charter as Rotary Club of Key Largo was mailed to Rotary International.

April 4, 1990 - First breakfast meeting at Sheraton Key Largo Resort (Currently the Key Largo Hilton).

April 9, 1990 - Our club was admitted as Rotary Club of Key Largo by Rotary International.

We began with 66 charter members. Current charter members are Wm. A. (Bill) Andersen, Gretchen Holland, Spencer Slate, Robert (Bob) Cullin (honorary), William (Bill) Markey (honorary).

June 19, 1990 was our charter banquet. Our 1st President was John Duffy, the President of Rotary International for 1989-1990 was Hugh M. Archer and the Governor of District 6990 for 1989-1990 was Garth R. Parker.

 

The Rotary Club of Key Largo has met at the Key Largo Hilton for 23 of its 27 year existence. 

 

Past Club Presidents Include:
1990-1991 John Duffy
1991-1992 Charles Goss
1992-1993 Bette Brown-Herlth
1993-1994 Mark Otto
1994-1995 Dale Wolgast
1995-1996 Barbara Whitla
1996-1997 Mike Lannon
1996-1998 Bill Markey
(Bill Markey stepped up when Mike Lannon moved mid-term)
1998-1999 Dan Taylor
1999-2000 Bill Andersen
2000-2001 Frank Kelly
2001-2002 Cris Beaty
2002-2003 Scott Newberry
2003-2004 Jim Turner
2004-2005 Laura L'Heureux
2005-2006 Paul Messina
2006-2007 Scott Newberry
2007-2008 Marsha DeClue
2008-2009 Susan Recarey
2009-2010 John Stuart
2010-2011 Sara Hamilton
2011-2012 Debbie McAfee
2012-2013 Katrina Lavene
2013-2014 Jennifer Miller
2014-2015 Nancy Alverez
2015-2016 Cris Beaty
2016-2017 Diann Barber
2017-2018 Dennis Caltagirone
2018-2019 Jennifer McComb