Historical Highlights of Rotary International and the Brattleboro Rotary Club

1908 - The second Rotary Club is organized in San Francisco.

1911 - The first Rotary Club outside the USA is formed in Winnepeg, Manitoba, Canada.

1912 - Clubs formed in London, England; Dublin, Ireland; and Belfast, Northern Ireland.

1918 - Rotary enters South America, with a club in Montevideo, Uruguay.

1920 - Rotary enters continental Europe, with a club in Madrid, Spain.

1921 - Rotary enters other countries, with clubs in Australia, France, Japan, Mexico, and New Zealand.

1922 - Rotary enters Africa, with a club in Johannesburg, South Africa.

1927 - Provision is made for the endowment of the Rotary Foundation.

1947 - Rotary founder Paul Harris dies.

1950 - Brattleboro Vermont Rotary Club is chartered on May 15, with Dick Sherwin as the first club president.

1951 - Brattleboro Rotary sponsors the Kings Brothers Circus.

1952 - Brattleboro Rotary hosts its first Penny Sale (last one in 1956).

1956 - Brattleboro Rotary starts the Winter Carnival Sugar-on-Snow event.

1959-60 - Brattleboro Rotary initiates the Brattleboro Chamber of Commerce Industrial Development Fund, which facilitated purchase of Exit 3 Industrial Park.

1965 - Brattleboro Rotary begins its annual Christmas Tree Sale fundraiser.

1966 - Brattleboro Rotary Club hosts the annual conference for District 7870.

1970 - Brattleboro Rotary starts granting scholarships annually (three $100 scholarships the first year).

1975 - Brattleboro Rotary hosts its first annual Hank Olson Charity Golf Tournament.

1985 - Rotary celebrates its 80th anniversary with over 21,000 clubs with 993,658 members internationally.

1985 - Brattleboro Rotary contributes $30,000 to Rotary International's newly launched Polio Plus program.

1986 - Rotary expands to over 1 million members.

1986 - Brattleboro Rotary creates the Gateway Foundation, which now provides $25,000 in scholarship grants each year.

1986 - Brattleboro Rotary initiates gift giving to seniors.

1987 - Rotary clubs formed in Eastern Europe.

1988 - First women join Rotary.

1993 - Brattleboro Rotary becomes 100% member of the Rotary International Foundation.

1993 - Brattleboro Rotary initiates its first El Sitio Project in El Salvador, providing dental and optical care for villagers, which soon evolves into providing water purification equipment and is now known as Pure Water for the World.

1993 - Brattleboro Rotary elects its first female club president Mara Williams (1993-94).

1994 - Brattleboro Rotary begins Project KidCare.

1995-96 - Brattleboro Rotary sponsors the new Brattleboro Sunrise Club.

1995-2003 - Antique Gun Show is co-hosted with the Police Benevolent Association.

1996 - Brattleboro Rotary launches the Student Rotarian program.

2000-01 - Brattleboro Rotary Club completes water playground at Living Memorial Park.

2005 - The Brattleboro Sunrise Club sponsors the new Deerfield Valley Club.

2005 - Rotary International celebrates its 100th anniversary with some 31,000 clubs with 1.2 million members in 166 countries.