North Raleigh Rotary - Club History

Our club was a spinoff of the West Raleigh Rotary Club whose president was Alex Wilson. Lyman Kiser, our first President (June 2, 1967) transferred from that club to ours. Of the 36 original charter members three are still active in our club.

During the period when the district held a competition for the Best Club, North Raleigh Rotary won the award at least seven times. It has always been a competitive club and participated in most of the district events. It's members have provided support to the district for the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, Boys and Girls Homes at Lake Waccamaw, Guatemala Text Book Program and many others over the years.

Our dues collections approach one million dollars over the 35 years of which approximately a third has gone to support well over 100 charitable and civic projects -- city, state, national and international. Our club maintains a charitable foundation and an endowment to provide supplemental support for our projects. We were one of the first to set up such organizations in the District.

We have sponsored or contributed to exchange groups from the US to many other countries, including England, Australia, Holland, Japan, Argentina and many others.

We have reached a peak of about 100 members, but average around 75.

The club has always participated in the District Conference, supplied exhibits, served on district committees, and produced videos to support various district projects.

North Raleigh Rotary has a tradition of encouraging new membership and offering leadership opportunities to them. Most of our projects start with the interest of one or two Rotarians. The club offers support and seed money to get started.

The club has met at the North Hills restaurant, The Flying Cloud Restaurant, The Holiday Inn on Capital Blvd.(all no longer in existence), and currently meets on Wednesdays at 12:30 at Sertoma Park on Millbrook Road in North Raleigh.

Submitted by Tom Owen, Club Historian