Rotary celebrates 100 years April 5 at Isle Casino

It's been 100 years since the Cape Girardeau Rotary Club was structured in Southeast Missouri, and on April 5 at Isle Casino Cape Girardeau, the president elect of Rotary International Mark Daniel Maloney will meet with the community during the Gala Celebration of Rotary to commemorate the organization's tenure.

U.S. District Court Judge and co-chair of the organization's centennial committee Stephen Limbaugh, Jr. said Thursday welcoming Maloney to Cape Girardeau for the upcoming event is a "remarkable" opportunity.

"Needless to say, we're rolling out the red carpet," he said of the April event. "It will be amazingly festive."

The affair will celebrate "all of those who have come before us" and also those who have contributed to the community through the Rotary Club, he said.

It also will serve as a fundraiser, Limbaugh added.

The evening will begin with cocktails, and entertainment will be provided by the Dixieland Band.

"We hope to raise tens of thousands of dollars for Rotary Foundation, and it's also a way to promote Rotary and the Rotary ideals throughout the area," he said.

Limbaugh said previous events have not been as much of a fundraiser as the April event.

Maloney will recognize attendees who are first-time Paul Harris Fellows, Multiple Paul Harris Fellows and other benefactors.

Limbaugh said he expects nearly 300 attendees at the event.

Over the last 100 years, the organization has raised "hundreds of thousands of dollars" for community projects, and also for Rotary International, he said.

"Our club was, I believe, the sixth club established in Missouri after St. Louis and Kansas City, and Jefferson City and a couple others," Limbaugh said. "The club was founded right after the end of World War I."

The organization began Jan. 28, 1919, with 25 men gathered at the St. Charles Hotel in downtown Cape Girardeau, according to information provided by local historian Bill Eddleman.

Limbaugh said those founding members wanted to be a force for good in Cape Girardeau, and "that's been the case for 100 years now."

According to Eddleman, the Cape Girardeau club also helped to start other clubs including the Jackson Rotary and Cape West Rotary.

And immediately after its founding, it began working to promote fellowship among local professions. During the 1920s, it pushed for better roads in Missouri, according to Eddleman. It also started a recognition program for providing landscaping during the early 1930s, along with providing a monument -- Bushyhead Memorial -- to Trail of Tears State Park in Jackson.

The Gala Celebration of Rotary in Southeast Missouri event will be held April 5 at Isle Casino Cape Girardeau. Admission is $75 and includes champagne, cocktail reception in the event ballroom, plated chefs choice dinner, complimentary select wine and beer and an official event program.

jhartwig@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3632