Newport Rotary Club Celebrates 100th Anniversary

The Newport Rotary Club is getting ready to celebrate 100 years of “Service Above Self” on Friday, March 8th from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm at the Wyndham Resort, 240 Aquidneck Ave., Middletown. The entire community, all current and past members along with their families and friends are encouraged to come for dinner, fellowship, and a short presentation. All are invited to come and learn about the impact Rotary has had in the community. More information and tickets are available at www.newportrotary.org,  by emailing RSVP@newportrotary.org or by calling the current club president, Debbie Bailey at 401-847-7766 ext. 102.

The Rotary Club of Newport members are a diverse group of professional leaders from the community. Rotarians are business and professional leaders who take an active role in their communities while also enriching their personal and professional lives.

The Rotary Club of Newport was organized on July 17, 1923 and Newport Beach was the site of the original meetings. Dr. Norman M. MacLeod served as Club President for the first two years (1923 -24 and 1924-25). Newport Rotarians were active at the onset and participated in many charitable, community and social events in this small city. There are several instances of father/son members and several members have seen their sons or daughters married to the children of other members. As in most small towns, service clubs played an important part in the social fabric of the community. Later, when women were welcomed to Rotary membership, we began to see instances of mother/daughter and husband/wife/partner members.

The Newport Rotary Club takes pride in doing their part to enhance the community - both locally and globally. They conduct and participate in numerous community-focused projects including their annual citrus fundraiser, Newport Polo Club sponsorship, the Rogers High School scholarship program, and grant giving program to dozens of community organizations in Newport and abroad.

They welcome other service and community-minded individuals to join their club. Becoming a member is easy - just let them know if you are interested and they will invite you to join them for lunch on a Tuesday that is convenient for you. Meet some of the members, enjoy the day's speaker, and learn about some of their current projects. For more information on attending a meeting, send a note to info@newportrotary.org.