A GLANCE AT OUR HISTORY

Brief History of the Rotary Club of Rockville
by Dr. Steve Cromwell and Eileen McGuckian

The Rotary Club of Rockville, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Frederick, received its charter on October 11, 1929. The 15 original members included a banker, a minister, a dentist, a funeral director, 6 businessmen, 2 attorneys, 2 physicians, and the principal of the local high school. Our first Charter Night - at the new Manor Country Club - attracted 100 Rotarians from other clubs.

The new club met briefly at the Fire House on Perry Street and at a local restaurant near the Fairgrounds before moving to the Hungerford Tavern restaurant on Washington Street. From 1947 to 1995, members enjoyed a weekly family-style lunch served by women of the Methodist Church on Montgomery Avenue. From 1997 to 2007 the club met at the Glenview Mansion, also known as the Rockville Civic Center Mansion. Currently the Club meets at the Ambrosia Grille at 802 Hungerford Drive in Rockville Maryland.

Over these 76 years, the Club made numerous charitable contributions, both locally and internationally. We sponsored the planting of trees, supported the Christ Child home, bought equipment for the Easter Seals Treatment Center and uniforms for the high school band, and made possible many projects by local charities. In 1979 the Club established the Rockville Rotary Club Foundation, which through the years has used the interest to support charitable and cultural activities, immunization and treatment programs, and help for area needy and disabled citizens.

In addition, since 1984 the Club, with the Roadrunners Club and the City of Rockville, has sponsored an annual Twilight Run. This community event generates over $30,000 annually for youth athletic scholarships, as well as funds for the Rotary Foundation and recipient charities. In international service, our club supports Rotary Scholars, has donated funds for 67 wheelchairs to be distributed to individuals, helped to fund 930 cataract eye surgeries in India, helped to launch a medical program for HIV/AIDs awareness and treatment, donated eye glasses for an eye clinic in Mexico and raised more than $100,000 for Rotary International's Polio Plus immunization program to eradicate polio throughout the world.

Rockville Rotarians enjoy fellowship and active participation in their community while carrying out the basic principle of Rotary International - Service Above Self.