Charlotte Rotary Centennial

1916 to 2016:  Charlotte Rotary Celebrates 100 Years!

The Rotary Club of Charlotte was founded almost a century ago and has been the launching pad for numerous initiatives that are the bedrock of our community, not the least of which is the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce.  Our club presidents and members have been leaders in our community: former Charlotte mayors John Belk and Ken Harris, former Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx – now U. S. Secretary of Transportation, and honorary member Gov. Pat McCrory, just to name a few.  Honorary member Hugh McColl revolutionized the banking industry, while our membership roster has included the CEOs and leaders of our local corporate titans from then and now: Frank Ratcliffe (Ratcliffe’s Flowers), Col. Norman Pease (J.N. Pease and Associates), Powell Majors (Lance), Donald Haack (Donald Haack Diamonds), George Ivey and Ervin Jackson (Ivey’s Department Stores), higher education (Sam Spencer/Leland Park of Davidson College, Ruth Shaw/Tony Zeiss of CPCC and most of the former chancellors of UNC Charlotte) and so many more from our hospitals, banks, retail … just about every business segment imaginable.

All of this is not to say that smaller businesses and entrepreneurs haven’t been an integral part of our club; indeed they have and are!  What all Charlotte Rotarians, regardless of the size of their business, have brought to the fore is our motto of “Service Above Self.”  Each year, our nearly 325 members support local non-profits both financially and hands on (Crisis Assistance Ministries, Salvation Army, Classroom Central, just to name a few), as well as international projects such as providing clean water in Haiti and supporting the education of polio worldwide.  In fact, during our centennial year we will be tracking 100 service projects and our members’ contributions of time and talents to each of them.  One of the sponsorship beneits is including your logo on the t-shirts our Rotarian volunteers will wear.

Whether one of your corporate leaders was a past president or a member 100 years ago or just recently joined, we are encouraging each and every business and individual whose life the Rotary Club of Charlotte has touched to join in our celebration.  We have a lot of exciting things planned during our centennial year, including some legacy projects that will last (we hope!) for another 100 years.  We’d certainly hate for you to miss out on any of them!

Recent History

Throughout this centennial year we will be outlining a year by year history to supplement our 75 Year History Book.  Below is a recap covering 1991 – 2016.

Click here for the review

Brief Overview of Our Centennial and Related Activities

For the most part, our celebration will last from December 1, 2015 until December 1, 2016, the actual centennial anniversary date of the founding of our club.  Some of the events, such as our weekly meetings, will be marked with history/centennial moments – a look back at some of the notable contributions our club has made to the business and social fabric of Charlotte.  Others will be stand-alone events that will be held solely in our 100th year (denoted by an asterisk).  As is always the case, especially with a volunteer organization, all events are subject to change and/or cancellation due to forces beyond our control.  The good news is we feel certain you will get every penny’s worth of your sponsorship/donation, and if you aren’t … just tell us how we can make it a win-win for us all.

Weekly Meetings: Our meetings are held weekly from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. on Tuesdays at the Marriott Fairfield Inn and Suites, 201 S. McDowell Street.  If you are a sponsor you always are welcome to visit a meeting at no cost, so long as you RSVP to sandy@charlotterotary.org at least 24 hours prior to our meeting.  We will be featuring centennial sponsor logos scrolling at our meetings to ensure our members and guests are being exposed to your company and its generosity.

Centennial Celebration Gala*: Slated for Thursday, December 1, 2016, this gala will bring together hundreds of Charlotte Rotarians and their families, as well as fellow Rotarians from across the region and the world.  Scheduled to be at the Charlotte Convention Center, there will be a VIP reception prior to the gala, cocktails, dinner, music/dancing and a dessert reception.  We will be featuring sponsor logos scrolling on the screens to ensure our members and guests are being exposed to your company and its generosity.

Historical Public Art*: As our legacy project, we will be doing a (series of) historical public art projects in conjunction with celebration partners around Uptown Charlotte.  They will feature a bronze sculpture of a person that passersby can “sit” with and have their picture taken.  The first will be at Knights Stadium and other possibilities around the city are being considered.  These will be accessible to the public and create a lasting legacy for Charlotte Rotary and for you, our celebration sponsor.  Signage behind the bench will feature our top sponsors; see levels for more details.

Annual Golf Tournament: Started in response to the events on September 11, 2001, our annual golf tournament has raised more than $750,000 to provide scholarships to the children of first responders (fire, police, sheriff and MEDIC) in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.  The golf tournament for 2016 will be held in Fall, 2016.

Charlotte Business Journal Insert*: In partnership with the Charlotte Business Journal, the Rotary Club of Charlotte will produce a stand-alone insert featuring articles and ads by our celebration partners.  We anticipate a one-time hard copy circulation to all Charlotte Business Journal subscribers (date TBD in fall of 2016) as well as overprinting the section  to be at each chair at the gala and distributed other ways through our Rotary office.  It also will serve as a commemorative keepsake for all of our (approximately 325) Rotarians and their families.

Charlotte Rotary Website*: The online hub for our 325 members plus visiting Rotarians from all around the world.  Your logo or name (see specific levels on following pages) will be featured on our website in the centennial section.

100 – A Century of Service booklet click here