At a special celebration on Thursday, April 14, 2022, Sunrise Rotary will celebrate its 40th anniversary. There will be almost 100 Rotarians and their guests in attendance, including most of our club members, a number of our original 28 charter members, District Governor Rich Cooper and District Governor-elect Jeff Michelman. The occasion will take place at the Gainesville Woman's Club beginning at 5:30 pm.

 

Notably, our club will be recognizing an abundance of new Paul Harris Fellows. Customarily, on each five-year anniversary of Sunrise Rotary's founding, the club has initiated the achievement of Paul Harris Fellows to match the number of years the club has been in existence. First it was 25 for 25, then 30 for 30, and then 35 for 35. Now that we're at 40, the final tally will be announced at the anniversary banquet, and all that we know is that it will exceed 40!

 

Two club members have gone above and beyond to help Sunrise Rotary achieve this 40 for 40 goal.  Bobbie Robinson has served as the overall organizer for "Celebrating 40 Years."  As you can tell, Bobbie has done a great job. In previous years, John Verkler (RIP) led the effort to develop Paul Harris Fellows, assisted by Wayne Smith.  This year, as Foundation Chair, Wayne has led the very successful effort to help members achieve Paul Harris Fellow status. 

 

The Rotary Club of Gainesville Sunrise was founded in 1981 and chartered on April 28, 1982. Our de facto club historian and charter member Dick Tarbox gave an excellent talk on our club's at a recent meeting. Dick was just one of four organizers of the club; the other three were Clarke Hodge, Don Erbes and Fred Kirchoff.  Together they recruited 24 additional founding members. Two charter members are still currently active in Sunrise Rotary; Dick and Leonard Furlow, and we anticipate other charter members to attend the anniversary celebration. Sunrise Rotary was also the first Rotary Club in Gainesville to induct a woman as a member, Lois Hensel. 

 

Over the last 40 years, Sunrise Rotary has had the privilege to contributing time and talents to the Gainesville and surrounding area, so we invite you to browse through our website and Facebook to learn more.