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L to r: Joe Skeens, Rotary Club President, presents Jimmy McCurdy, charter member; Brent Walker, charter member; and Jimmy Dubberly, charter member and Rotary Club’s first president, plaques for 25 years of service. Not pictured, Dr. Troy Rahn.
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A large crowd attended Glennville Rotary Club’s 25th anniversary observance.
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Jimmy Dubberly, Glennville Rotary Club’s first president.
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Donald Fountain, Rotary Club president, 1988-1989.
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by Pam Waters
The 25th anniversary of the Glennville Rotary Club was observed on Wednesday, December 9, 2009, at the Glennville Garden Club Center with reminiscing about the club’s beginnings and the impact the club has had on the community in addition to worldwide.
After being led by Bill Werkheiser in the reciting of the Four-Way Test, Jimmy Dubberly, the club’s first president, shared the club’s beginnings in 1984.
“One day, Frank Stanton from Savannah called me and asked if he could come to Glennville to discuss the possibility of organizing a Rotary Club in Glennville. I told him I was ‘too busy,’ but he insisted and offered to buy my lunch and discuss Rotary,” said Dubberly.
Dubberly told his captive audience of his amazement at the enthusiasm in Stanton’s voice as he spoke of Rotary.
After an initial reluctance, Dubberly agreed to Stanton’s request of getting five other men together for a group from Savannah to talk with them about the possibility of starting a Rotary Club in Glennville.
“On September 18, 1984, a group of six men from Glennville and four men from the Savannah West Club met for two hours at the Mascot Restaurant to discuss this possibility,” said Dubberly, adding that the Glennville men’s excitement over the proposed club continued after the Savannah group left, continuing to talk about what they had been told about Rotary.
The next day, the six men (Jimmy Dubberly, Dr. Troy Rahn, Lee Woodcock, Bran Thompson, Royce Anderson, and Bill Warnock) met for lunch and set 12 noon each Wednesday at the Mascot Restaurant as their future meeting day, time, and place.
The group of six compiled a list of 30 potential members, and each began the task of selecting two of those to contact about being a charter member.
“We set our goal at 18 for the next meeting and a date of Wednesday, October 3, 1984. From that meeting, the Glennville Rotary Club was formed,” said Dubberly, who said the Glennville Rotary Club had 21 charter members.
Today in 2009, the club has 33 members, of which four are female.
During its 25 years of existence, Dubberly noted that the club had made numerous achievements.
•In 1988, the club hosted its first scholarship auction, held at the Glennville High School cafeteria, and raised $2200.
•In 1989-1990, the Glennville club was named Club of the Year for the District, won the Club Bulletin Award, and placed first in the District Golf Tournament.
•Glennville Rotary Club was one of the first clubs to admit women.
•Sponsored the Reidsville Rotary Club August 20, 1990.
•Have 21 Paul Harris Fellows, which indicates that each of these has contributed $1000. In addition, four are Paul Harris Fellows #1 (Mary Faye Craft, Donald Fountain, Dennis Lamb, and Bill Werkheiser), which indicates they have contributed over $2000 to the Rotary Foundation; and Jimmy Dubberly is a Paul Harris Fellow #2, a $3000 plus contributor to the Rotary Foundation
•Co-sponsored with the Reidsville Club a new Interact Club at Tattnall County High School, and also one at Pinewood Christian Academy, which was co-sponsored with the Claxton Club.
•In 1997, when the District Conference was held in Jacksonville, Florida, the Glennville club hosted the first annual District Auction and then chaired the second annual District Auction in Savannah in 1998.
Dr. Troy Rahn is lauded as the only Glennville Rotarian who has held perfect attendance at the meetings in the club’s 25-year history. (Rotarians can make up a meeting by attending the meeting of another club one week prior or one week after an absence at the member’s home club.) During the last few years, other methods to make up missed meetings have been added, such as web or e-meetings.
Dubberly went on to share excerpts from past Rotary bulletins as to those who spoke on various topics, such as Coach William Hall, Dale Parker, Cardiologist Dr. Charles Drake, Joe McGovern (on Ducks Unlimited), Dennis Lamb (on lawnmower blade manufacturing), CPA Bran Thompson (on the 1995 tax law changes), General Norman Schwarzkopf (then Commanding General at Ft. Stewart), Dr. Troy Rahn (on his Alaskan trip), and Tommy Hilliard (laws on burning of woods), just to name a few of the educational and informative presentations Rotarians had heard over the years. Royce Anderson was also remembered as a colorful Sergeant-at-Arms.
Jimmy Dubberly served as the club’s first president, in 1984-1985 and in 1985-1986, and once again served as president in 2001-2002.
Donald Fountain, who served as the Glennville Rotary Club President in 1988-1989 related how Rotary had impacted the local economy and beyond.
“Over our 25-year history, we have inducted over 130 community leaders into Rotary International,” said Fountain.
He noted the club’s participation in the Georgia Rotary Student Program, including the hosting of student Charlotte Enggaard from Denmark as well as six other students form Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Australia, and Malaysia, with these hostings held in conjunction with several other area clubs.
Fountain expressed the club’s appreciation to the Glennville Garden Club for their joining the Glennville Rotary Club in the hosting of the annual scholarship auction.
He referred to the economic impact that had been made by the Glennville Rotary Club in its first 25 years.
•Over $375,000 in dues had been collected.
•Over $10,000 in fines collected by the club’s Sergeant-at-Arms, with the majority of this money donated to various community groups.
•Over $250,000 raised in the club’s annual auction.
•Over $200,000 spent on meals for the weekly meetings.
•Rotary Foundation
/Polio Plus campaign, with the Glennville club raising over $50,000 for the Rotary Foundation and $5,000 toward Polio Plus, and diligently chaired by Dr. Troy Rahn.
•Over 100 students have benefitted from scholarships, and over $85,000 has been distributed to them locally.
•Over $100,000 has been donated by the club to sponsor a variety of youth educational programs, such as the Glennville Rotary Student Program, Rotary Youth Leadership Program, World Youth Leadership Program, Rotary International Scholarship Winner (an $18,000 scholarship to Heather Gore awarded by Rotary International), summer youth exchange, local programs, Garden Club partnership, and auditorium renovation.
“Overall, we can estimate an economic impact of approximately $500,000 made by the Glennville Rotary Club,” said Fountain.
Fountain closed his comments on a personal note, his invitation to join Rotary by his good friend and colleague, the late Lee Woodcock (who was one of the founders of the Glennville Rotary Club). He said he shared the belief of Woodcock in the Four-Way Test and the Rotary Motto of “Service Above Self,” and “He profits most who Serves Best.”
“The Glennville Rotary Club remains one of the best clubs in District 6920 today because Rotarians like Lee, Jimmy, Troy, and many others built a good foundation for the club, provided great leadership, and reached out to share the values of Rotary with others,” said Fountain in closing.
In addition to Lee Woodcock, other deceased members are Paul Oliver, Clinton Oliver, Bob Woodcock, Royce Anderson, Jack Rimes, and Eddy Rogers.
The current Glennville Rotary Club president, Joe Skeens, commended the Glennville Rotary Club on its tremendous success to date, and applauded the club in exemplifying the Four-Way Test and its undisputed worldwide impact.
Service award plaques, Certificates of Service for 25 years of dedication, leadership, and commitment, were also presented to four of the original 21 charter members still active in the Glennville Rotary Club - Jimmy Dubberly, Jimmy McCurdy, Brent Walker, and Dr. Troy Rahn (who was not present at the December 9 meeting to accept his plaque).
“It’s a genuine privilege to be a Glennville Rotarian, and I commend all of you who have gone before me,” said President Skeens. The organization of Rotary International needs an explanation to fully grasp the accomplishments of the Glennville Rotary Club.
For those in Tattnall County, Rotary Club is not affiliated whatsoever with Rotary Corporation in Glennville, as may be confusing for those who say "Rotary" without specifying club or corporation. Today, Rotary International is an organization of 1.2 million business and professional leaders in more than 165 countries, which amounts to approximately 31,000 clubs. These clubs meet weekly, and members share a meal together, and usually will hear an informative 30-minute presentation by an interesting speaker. Most notably, these groups provide humanitarian service while building goodwill and peace in the world.
Rotary's vision is emphasized by its motto of "Service Above Self" and the Four-Way Test (printed on this page).
Rotary clubs participate in a broad range of humanitarian, intercultural, and educational activities designed to improve the human condition.
Rotary's humanitarian grants support club projects that provide health care and medical supplies, clean water, food, job training, youth development, and education to millions of people in need - particularly in the developing world.
In addition, Rotary provides more than 200 grants each year to fund the work of Rotary volunteers, who travel to parts of the world where their technical expertise and knowledge are most needed to alleviate hardship and solve problems. Since the first Rotary Club was organized in Chicago, Illinois, in 1905, by Paul P. Harris, their milestones have been numerous. Just seven years after its formation, Rotary Clubs began forming outside the United States, with the first in Winnipeg, Canada, in 1912. One of the most far-reaching and humanitarian projects of Rotary International has been its Polio Plus Program The goal of this project, launched in 1985, was the eradication of polio in the Western Hemisphere, and this was declared as accomplished in 1994. By 2000, the Western Pacific was shown to be polio free, and by 2002, all of Europe was recognized as polio free; by 2003, Rotarians had raised $118 million for this final eradication of polio.
The Glennville Rotary Club alone raised over $50,000 for the Rotary Foundation, with $5,000 for the Polio Plus Campaign, under the diligent leadership of Dr. Troy Rahn, who chaired the Polio Plus Campaign for the Glennville Rotary Club. He challenged the Glennville Rotarians to give generously while supporting the fundraisers utilized to raise these funds within a two-year period.
Although the Rotary Club began as clubs for men only, in 1989 Rotary opened their membership to women worldwide. The Glennville club was one of the first to respond, admitting their first female club member in 1989-1990.
Rotary Clubs are known as progressive, and, in 2001, the first Rotary e-Club was chartered. In 2004, Rotary International's largest convention ever was held in Osaka, Japan, with 45,381 attendees.
Rotary Foundation
An overview of Rotary is not complete without mention of the Rotary Foundation. In 1917, Arch C. Klumph, Rotary's sixth president, proposed to the Rotary International Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, the creation of an "endowment fund for Rotary...for the purpose of doing good in the world in charitable, educational, and other avenues of community service."
A few months later, the endowment received its first contribution of $26.50 from the Rotary Club of Kansas City, Missouri.
In 1928, when the endowment fund had grown to more than $5000, the fund was renamed The Rotary Foundation, and it became a distinct entity within Rotary International (RI).
Two yeas later, the Foundation made its first grant of $500 to the International Society for Crippled Children (ISCC). The ISCC, created by Rotarian Edgar F. "Daddy" Allen, later grew into the Easter Seals organization. The Great Depression and World War II both impeded significant growth for the Foundation. After Rotary founder Paul P. Harris died in 1947, contributions began pouring into Rotary International, and the Paul Harris Memorial Fund was created for the purpose of building the Foundation.
That same year, the first Foundation program established Fellowships for Advanced Study, which was the forerunner of the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarships program.
Then, in 1965-66, three new programs were launched - Group Study Exchange, Awards for Technical Training, and Grants for Activities in Keeping with the Objective of The Rotary Foundation, which was later called Matching Grants. The Health, Hunger, and Humanity (3-H) program was launched in 1978, with the Rotary Volunteers program being created as a part of 3-H in 1980. The Polio Plus program was announced in 1984-85, and the following year saw the introduction of Rotary Grants for University Teachers. The first Peace Forums were held in 1987-88, leading to the establishment of Rotary Peace Programs.
Then, in 1989, 1963-64 RI President Carl P. Miller and his wife, Ruth, donated $1 million to establish the Discovery Grants program. Throughout this time, support of the Foundation grew tremendously. Since that first $26.50 donation in 1917, the Foundation has received contributions totaling more than $1 billion.
More than $68 million was donated in 1998-99 alone. To date, some 726,000 individuals have been recognized as Paul Harris Fellows, that is, someone who has contributed $1000 or has had that amount contributed in his or her name.
Such strong support and involvement of Rotarians worldwide ensures a secure future for The Rotary Foundation as it continues its vital work for international understanding and world peace.
The Glennville club is proud to have 21 Paul Harris Fellows among its members.
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