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About Us
“Individuals join
Rotary for a variety of reasons,
but they usually stay in Rotary for the
right reasons…”
Tom Powell, club president 1994-95
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Rotary
is an international organization of business and professional persons united
worldwide to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards
in all vocations and help build goodwill and peace in the world. Worldwide,
there are more than 1.22 million Rotarians in about 32,600
clubs in 168 countries. Rotary is a service organization, not a civic or
fraternal group. |
| Paul Harris and three business friends founded Rotary on
February 23, 1905, in Chicago. The Object of Rotary is to
encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise.
This ideal of service is fostered through: the development of
acquaintance as the opportunity for service; the promotion of high ethical
standards in business and the professions; service in one’s personal,
business and community life; and the advancement of international
understanding, goodwill and peace. |
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The Rotary Motto – Service Above Self – encapsulates the core
mission of Rotary.
Rotary’s 4-Way Test summarizes how Rotarians pledge to regard
business and interpersonal ethics: 1. Is it the Truth? 2.
Is it Fair to all concerned? 3. Will it build
Goodwill and Better Friendships? 4. Will it be
Beneficial to all concerned?
The Rotary Club of North Charleston Breakfast was chartered in April,
1987, with Gene Tynes as the club’s charter president. The club’s
first meeting site was the Marriott Hotel at the Montague exit of 1-26.
After the hotel changed hands several times, the club moved to the then-new
Embassy Suites at the North Charleston Convention Center in 2000.
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| Early on, the club adopted the Gift of Life Program as its major
charity and in the fall of 1991, established an annual golf tournament as
its main fund-raiser. After several years of partnering with the
Marriott to conduct the tournament, the club and the hotel parted amicably.
Before the development of the The Golf Club at Wescott Plantation, the club
held the tournaments at Coosaw Creek, Charleston National and Dunes West.
Significantly, the move to Wescott enabled the club to expand the tournament
field to include fifty-four teams. |
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The club also has adopted other projects that address the Rotary goal of
providing for the Four Avenues of Service. These include Rotary Reader,
RIDDE, Dictionary Project, Success by Six, and Manufacturing Summer
Camps. Additionally, the club has made periodic, but significant
contributions to From Darkness to Light, Trident Literacy Association,
and Crisis Ministries. |
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The club has an excellent record and rich legacy of support of the
Foundation as well as the goals and objectives of RI and the District.
Through August 10, 2006, the club had contributed $106,748.25 to the
Foundation. And, for nineteen consecutive years, the club has earned
the prestigious RI Presidential Citation. The club also was the
sponsor of the new Rotary Club of Daniel Island in 2001.
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In 2004, the club’s
Board established the Rotarian of the Year Award, and Phil
Palmatier was the first recipient. The subsequent recipients of the
award were:
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2005 Wayne Whelan
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2006 John Cawley
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2007 Gary Pruitt
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2008 E. Karl Braun
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During Rotary’s
centennial celebration in 2005, each club was charged with doing a
special “centennial project” in its community. For its project the
Rotary Club of North Charleston Breakfast provided significant
financial support for a new amphitheater-bandstand in North
Charleston Park. A bronze plaque recognizes the club’s contribution. |
Past club Presidents who remain active are: Ray Anderson, Allen Carter,
John Cawley, Paul Franklin, Bob Godwin, Bill Moody, Bob Ott, Doug Rawls,
Paul Rundbaken, Steve Smith, Robbie Snyder, and Wayne Whelan.
-Wayne Whelan
September 2006 |
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(Excerpt from 2006 Fireside Chat Handout.) | |
