About Us

Rotary History

T he world's first service club, the Rotary Club of Chicago, was formed on 23 February 1905 by Paul P. Harris, an attorney who wished to capture in a professional club the same friendly spirit he had felt in the small towns of his youth. The Rotary name derived from the early practice of rotating meetings among members' offices.

Rotary's popularity spread, and within a decade, clubs were chartered from San Francisco to New York to Winnipeg, Canada. By 1921, Rotary clubs had been formed on six continents. The organization adopted the Rotary International name a year later.

As Rotary grew, its mission expanded beyond serving club members’ professional and social interests. Rotarians began pooling their resources and contributing their talents to help serve communities in need. The organization's dedication to this ideal is best expressed in its motto: Service Above Self.

By 1925, Rotary had grown to 200 clubs with more than 20,000 members. The organization's distinguished reputation attracted presidents, prime ministers, and a host of other luminaries to its ranks — among them author Thomas Mann, diplomat Carlos P. Romulo, humanitarian Albert Schweitzer, and composer Jean Sibelius.
 

The Four-Way Test

In 1932, Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor created The Four-Way Test, a code of ethics adopted by Rotary 11 years later. The test, which has been translated into more than 100 languages, asks the following questions:

Of the things we think, say or do

1.  Is it the TRUTH?

2.  Is it FAIR to all concerned?

3.  Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?

4.   Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

 

Rotary and World War II

During World War II, many clubs were forced to disband, while others stepped up their service efforts to provide emergency relief to victims of the war. In 1942, looking ahead to the postwar era, Rotarians called for a conference to promote international educational and cultural exchanges. This event inspired the founding of UNESCO.

In 1945, 49 Rotary club members served in 29 delegations to the UN Charter Conference. Rotary still actively participates in UN conferences by sending observers to major meetings and covering the United Nations in its publications.

"Few there are who do not recognize the good work which is done by Rotary clubs throughout the free world," former Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Great Britain once declared.

Dawn of a new century

As it approached the 21st century, Rotary worked to meet society’s changing needs, expanding its service efforts to address such pressing issues as environmental degradation, illiteracy, world hunger, and children at risk.

In 1989, the organization voted to admit women into clubs worldwide and now claims more than 145,000 female members in its ranks.

After the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Rotary clubs were formed or re-established throughout Central and Eastern Europe. The first Russian Rotary club was chartered in 1990, and the organization underwent a growth spurt for the next several years.

More than a century after Paul Harris and his colleagues chartered the club that eventually led to Rotary International, Rotarians continue to take pride in their history. In honor of that first club, Rotarians have preserved its original meeting place, Room 711 in Chicago’s Unity Building, by re-creating the office as it existed in 1905. For several years, the Paul Harris 711 Club maintained the room as a shrine for visiting Rotarians. In 1989, when the building was scheduled to be demolished, the club carefully dismantled the office and salvaged the interior, including doors and radiators. In 1993, the RI Board of Directors set aside a permanent home for the restored Room 711 on the 16th floor of RI World Headquarters in nearby Evanston.

District 6490

Decatur Rotary Club, chartered in 1915, was the first club within our present District boundaries. Danville and Bloomington followed in 1915, Champaign in 1917. All our territory was part of the much larger District 8. Herbert C. Angseyer of Chicago was elected Governor in 1915.

The 1920’s was a period of rapid growth — 25 Rotary Clubs were formed in what is now District 6490. The number of the District has changed eight times since its founding. The District has been No. 8, 12, 19, 41, 45, 148, 215, and 649, usually due to realignment made necessary by growth in number of clubs. The latter number was designated in 1956, and changed to 6490 when growth in some districts made four digits helpful to RI’s computer. In 1923, James M. White of Champaign became the first District Governor from within the present boundaries of this District. Since that time District Governors have come from 30 different clubs.  Since that time District Governors have come from 30 different clubs.

The District continued its steady growth over the years, and now boasts 55 clubs spreading Rotary’s influence across the District. The last nine clubs formed in the District were Savoy, Bloomington-Normal Sunrise, Effingham Sunrise, Arcola Sunrise, Forsyth Sunrise, Mahomet, Bloomington-Normal Sunset, Sullivan, and Champaign-Urbana Illini After 5.

District 6490 currently consists of the Illinois counties of Bond, Champaign, Christian, Clark, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, DeWitt, Douglas, Edgar, Effingham, Fayette, Ford, Iroquois, Jasper, Livingston (except Dwight Township), Logan, Macon, McLean, Montgomery, Moultrie, Piatt, Shelby, Vermilion, and Woodford.

Our club

Though several charter members had been meeting informally since 1989, On June 14, 1990, the Bloomington Normal Rotary club received its charter in District 6490.  The Normal club was sponsored by both the Bloomington and Normal Rotary clubs.  Of the 31 charter members, 5 have remained continuous members in Sunrise Rotary: John Wohlwend, Lyn Landon, Steve Parker, Keith Palmgren, and Adam Funk. A few charter members have continued their Rotary service in other clubs in town and out of state.

The first President was Michael S. Emmerson, now deceased.  He was a member of the Bloomington club before starting Sunrise. Rotary  Two other charter members have died over the years; Bill Spaniol and Andy Bartolone.

One of the club’s first service projects was rehabilitating a house on Allin Street on the West side of Bloomington.  This was actually a joint project of all 3 Rotary clubs and Community Action.  It was used for families in transition to permanent housing of their own.

Another of the service projects in the early years of the club was adopting a section of the East end of the Constitution Trail, just west of Airport Road.  At this time, it was the end of the trail and very sparse.  Sunrise Rotarians cleaned up the trail area, installed a bike rack and benches, and planted bushes, bulbs, and many trees.  We also built a shelter there in sponsorship with the B-N Homebuilder's Association.  A plaque for donations to the tree planting and a boulder commemorating the club's 10 year anniversary still stand at the site, which is now the south end of Tipton Trails, along GE Road.

Early on we also helped facilitate newspaper recycling in a project that  was sponsored by the Town of Normal.  Once a month, we would unload people's cars and load the newspapers into a semi trailer. 

All of these service projects involving Sunrise Rotarians and their families were great times of bonding and fellowship for the club members and their families. 

The Sunrise Rotary Club is one of four clubs in the Bloomington and Normal areas.  Other clubs include the Sunset Club of Bloomington/Normal, the Rotary Club of Normal,  and the Rotary Club of Bloomington.  We are all a part of Rotary International, District 6490.

Presidents of the Sunrise Rotary Club:

1990-1991
Michael S Emmerson

1991
Jacuqeline Cresswell

1991-1992
David Mercier

1992-1993
M. Lyn Landon

1994-95
Teena Griffin

1995-96
Adam Funk

1996-97
Andy Bartolone

1997-98
Dennis Brtva

1998-99
John Wohlwend

1999-00
Rex Schaeffer

2000-01
Ann Harding

2001-02
Joe Mikulecky

2002-03
William Yoder

2003-04
Tim Southey

2004-05
James Waldorf

2005-2006
Alston Hodge

2006-07
Susan Hoover

2007-08
John Carter

2008-09
Paula Walsh

2009-10
Joseph Teague Jr.

2010-2011
Vicki Tilton

2011-2012
Ryan O'Connell