FULTON - Members of the Fulton Rotary Club celebrated 100 years of helping the community Wednesday.
Rotary International officially chartered the Fulton Rotary Club on March 15, 1923. Fulton resident Nick T. Cave founded the club and established rotary clubs in Missouri. The Columbia Rotary Club played a big role in sponsoring it.
The club aims to help the local community of Fulton and beyond. In the past few years, the group has supported SERVE, Our House, CASA, the Super Sam Foundation, Coalition Against Rape and Domestic Violence (CARDV), Faith Maternity Center, Special Olympics, ICanBike, Open Table, Head Start, Scouts, United Way, and the Salvation Army, among other organizations.
Through the years the club has continued to get more diverse. When Rotary International officially charted the club, it was made up of 22 members all of which were men. Today, the club has grown to 52 members, and over half of them are women.
Renee Tyler is a newer member of the club, and she said she loves how women like her are given a voice.
“I think that rotary actually embodies a lot of the tenants that are women,” Tyler said. Especially professional women and mothers having a voice at the table. These are the things that rotary embodies.”
Allen Huggins, president of the Fulton Rotary Club, said diversity is what the club is all about.
“You just have a very strong presence of not only women but from all members of our community,” Higgins said. “I feel that our club really has a good semblance of balance in regards to who is represented."
The Fulton Rotary Club meets every Wednesday at noon.
"You’re not just a banker, or a lawyer in the club," Higgins said. "We have retired teachers, we have current teachers, we have your business people, we have individuals that are in the club because they want to give back to the community and provide some service."
