History of our Local Atlantic Club

The Atlantic Rotary Club was chartered on April 1, 1920. 

The first meeting was in March of 1920.  The meeting was held at the Merchants Café, at 323 Chestnut Street.  

Nineteen men were charter members of the club.  Those individuals included:  E.G. Wilson, Paul C. Otto, C. F. Anderson, Tom B. Bonham, Roscoe L. Brown, E. P. Chase, Dr. D. L. Campbell, H. H. Egbert, A. A. Gillette, Dr. W. S. Greenleaf, Roy Hedger, E. E. Herring, C. E. Malone, Dr. U. S. Mullins, J. H. Peacock, D. E. Shrauger, H. B. Swan, Ben U. Wood, and Ross Camblin. 

WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO JOIN?

Members of the Atlantic Rotary Club are leaders and decision makers within their businesses.  The Atlantic Rotary Club has members employed by local corporations’ state and civic government entities, and are entrepreneurs, educators, elected officials and leaders from the non-profit community.  The Atlantic Rotary Club is committed to having members from a wide spectrum of the community.

 ROTARY ORGANIZATION AND ACTIVITIES

Along with a board of directors, there are four active committees:

 The Community Service Committee identifies programs and projects for the club that will benefit the Atlantic area and have local impact.  Activities have included a watermelon feed at the county fair, New Teacher Recognition, Salute to Veterans, Scholarships for graduating seniors, and the log cabin maintenance. 

 The International Service Committee is a liaison between the club and the Rotary Foundation. They work to educate members about the benefits of the Foundation and becoming a sustaining member.

 Vocational Service Committee members coordinate activities that allow our members to not only get to know each other better but also learn about our local companies. Activities include Salute to Agriculture, Senior Recognition, Employee Recognition, and Rotary Youth Leadership Awards.

Meeting arrangements, welcoming visitors and guests is coordinated by the Club Service Committee.  They also lead the way in membership recruitment, new member orientation and induction.

Think it’s all work and no play? The Atlantic Rotary Club Social Committee ensures that there is ample social activities and fun to be had throughout the year.  Our social events range from breakfast at the county fair to a Family Picnic.

The Rotary auction was started in January of 1984.  The second auction was held in November of 1984.  The time of year was changed to the fall so people could use the items purchased for Christmas gifts.  This is the primary fund-raising event of the club.  The funds raised are filtered back into the community via a grant application from non-profits in the community.

Groups receiving funds from the auction have included the Nishna Valley YMCA, Jack and Jill preschool, the Atlantic Library, the Little League, scholarships for graduating seniors from the Atlantic High School, the Cass County Community Center, the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce and many, many more organizations.