Fitzgerald Rotary Club

Fitzgerald Rotary Club. . , The Rotary Club of Fitzgerald was chartered on December 21, 1936, through the sponsorship of the Columbus Rotary Club. The organizational meeting was held December 1, 1936 in the office of J. C. McDonald. There were twenty-six charter members. S. B. Bowers, Sr., Harvey L. Jay, J. H. Mayes, J. C. McDonald, Neil Peavy, J. B. Russell, and J. Gould Williams were elected as directors with charter officers being J. C. McDonald, President, J. H. Mayes, Vice-president, Harvey L. Jay, Secretary, Neil Peavy, Treasurer, and Lauren Parrott, Sergeant-at-arms. The Lee-Grant Hotel was selected as the meeting place every Tuesday at 12:30 o’clock P.M. with the first meeting being held on December 8, 1936. The Charter Night Banquet was held January 26, 1937, at 8:00 o’clock P.M. in the American Legion Home. Every member except one was present and there were about 75 guests present. K. D. White, President of the Columbus Club, presided. J. Quentin Davidson, on behalf of the Columbus Club, presented the Fitzgerald Club with a bell and gavel. The highlight of the meeting was the presentation of the Charter to the Club by District Governor Joel Chandler Harris, Jr. led by the efforts and leadership of Rotarians Owen Segraves and Dr. Ray Barfield. The Fitzgerald Rotary Club reciprocated its founding by sponsoring the charters of clubs in Douglas in 1961, Ocilla in 1963, and Ashburn in 1968. , The Fitzgerald Club has been the home of strong business, economic, professional and community leaders who sought to make Fitzgerald and Ben Hill County the ideal community to live, work, worship, and play in comfort and peace and where dreams can come true. Literacy has been a mainstay of the Club. Superintendents, principals and Board of Education members have consistently been leaders in the Club and the community. During his term as Club President in 1978, Owen Segraves helped establish the Rotary Top Ten program that annually recognizes the ten highest academically achieving students in grades nine through twelve with a banquet and plaque. In 1998 the Ben Hill Education Foundation began a partnership with the Rotarians to give a computer to the students that achieved top ten during all four years of their high school career. Internationally, the Club has sponsored numerous students through the Georgia Rotary Student program, group study exchange, provided clean water, medical equipment and supplies, and mobile health buses through participation in global grant projects. Fitzgerald Rotary provided funding to help in eradicating the polio virus. Many Fitzgerald Rotarians served beyond the Club level providing leadership to the District organization. For the year 2013 – 2014 Gary D. Smith became the first member from the Club to serve as a District Governor., This marker is dedicated on December 21, 2016 to observe the 80th anniversary of Fitzgerald Rotary and to re-commit to future generations its dedication to the Rotary motto of “Service Above Self”.