Rotary Club of Monticello, Minnesota
About Our Club
When did the Monticello Rotary Club begin?
The Monticello Rotary Club celebrated 50 years of service during the year 2005. The Monticello Rotary Club's charter application was approved by Rotary International on June 10, 1955 and its charter night was held June 29th. The Buffalo Rotary Club (a neighboring city) sponsored the newly formed Monticello Club. You can download a Monticello Club History document on the right menu bar of the website under "Downloads" which is titled: "Monticello Rotary History 50 Years." This document outlines the various club presidents and a short summary of the projects for each year from 1955 through 2005.
The Monticello Rotary began in 1955 with 21 members. Today our club has more than 50 members. Rotary International began in 1905 with four businesses men who got together in downtown Chicago and decided to begin meeting on a regular basis. Eventually club members began to rotate their regular meetings at different business locations. Members originally were allowed only one from each type of business category in order to provide a well rounded circle of different business representations. Today, members from the same type of business categories are allowed to partciipate and more than one type of business can be represented in a club via membership. Rotary was originated by business men but eventually included business women. For a complete histpry of Rotary International visit the link on the left menu bar of this website under "Rotary History."
When did Rotary International invite women to participate?
In 1987, in a landmark decision the U.S. Supreme Court said Rotary Clubs must admit women as members? What year did the Monticello Club admit its first women members and who were they? In 1988, Monticello Rotary admitted three women members: Ollie Koropchak, Grace Pederson and Dr. Susan Reiner (who was also Monticello's first female club president in 1993-94.) Today, in 2008 both Ollie and Grace are still members of our club. Currently out of 52 total members, 11 are women.
Who was the first Monticello Rotary club president?
The first Monticello club president in 1955 was Hugo N. Lungwitz. Today, in the year 2008, our club is fortunate to have a charter member involved with our club - Hugo's son, Dale Lungwitz. The Monticello Rotary Club has a proud history of serving the local community in addition to participating in many Rotary International service projects worldwide.
What was the Monticello Rotary Club's first international project?
Eyeglasses to India project with letters going out to the 38 other clubs in our District #174 asking for cooperation in collecting unused eyeglasses. A record batch of eyeglasses for India shipped on May 20, 1957. Tally showed 1,298 pairs. Today, our Monticello Rotary Club participates in more than 30 different service projects both locally and internationally on an annual basis. Rotary's motto has always been: "Service Above Self." To view a list of our current club projects, click on the left menu bar under "Site Pages" and the link "Club Projects."
The Monticello Rotary Club celebrated 50 years of service during the year 2005. The Monticello Rotary Club's charter application was approved by Rotary International on June 10, 1955 and its charter night was held June 29th. The Buffalo Rotary Club (a neighboring city) sponsored the newly formed Monticello Club. You can download a Monticello Club History document on the right menu bar of the website under "Downloads" which is titled: "Monticello Rotary History 50 Years." This document outlines the various club presidents and a short summary of the projects for each year from 1955 through 2005.
The Monticello Rotary began in 1955 with 21 members. Today our club has more than 50 members. Rotary International began in 1905 with four businesses men who got together in downtown Chicago and decided to begin meeting on a regular basis. Eventually club members began to rotate their regular meetings at different business locations. Members originally were allowed only one from each type of business category in order to provide a well rounded circle of different business representations. Today, members from the same type of business categories are allowed to partciipate and more than one type of business can be represented in a club via membership. Rotary was originated by business men but eventually included business women. For a complete histpry of Rotary International visit the link on the left menu bar of this website under "Rotary History."
When did Rotary International invite women to participate?
In 1987, in a landmark decision the U.S. Supreme Court said Rotary Clubs must admit women as members? What year did the Monticello Club admit its first women members and who were they? In 1988, Monticello Rotary admitted three women members: Ollie Koropchak, Grace Pederson and Dr. Susan Reiner (who was also Monticello's first female club president in 1993-94.) Today, in 2008 both Ollie and Grace are still members of our club. Currently out of 52 total members, 11 are women.
Who was the first Monticello Rotary club president?
The first Monticello club president in 1955 was Hugo N. Lungwitz. Today, in the year 2008, our club is fortunate to have a charter member involved with our club - Hugo's son, Dale Lungwitz. The Monticello Rotary Club has a proud history of serving the local community in addition to participating in many Rotary International service projects worldwide.
What was the Monticello Rotary Club's first international project?
Eyeglasses to India project with letters going out to the 38 other clubs in our District #174 asking for cooperation in collecting unused eyeglasses. A record batch of eyeglasses for India shipped on May 20, 1957. Tally showed 1,298 pairs. Today, our Monticello Rotary Club participates in more than 30 different service projects both locally and internationally on an annual basis. Rotary's motto has always been: "Service Above Self." To view a list of our current club projects, click on the left menu bar under "Site Pages" and the link "Club Projects."