Rotary Club of Greater Corvallis

The Rotary Club in Corvallis experienced tremendous growth in the early 1970s. Sharon Eichelberger, District 511 governor, suggested that a second Rotary Club be formed. Rotarian Robert Holcomb agreed to chair the committee that would recruit and mentor the new club.

July 1976 marked the first weekly meeting at the Big O Restaurant located on Fourth Street. Members drafted a constitution and by-laws, and on October 29, 1976, Rotary Club of Greater Corvallis received the official charter from Rotary International.

To celebrate, the hosting Corvallis Club held a charter dinner on January 8, 1977, at Nendel’s Inn. About 300 people were on hand to hear dignitaries such as Chief Justice Arno Deneke of the Oregon Supreme Court and District 511 Governor Bill Berg welcome the newly chartered club.

Charter members included:

• Alan Christensen
• Lawrence Clark
• David Crockatt
• John Davis
• John Dennis
• Phillip Doud
• James Eickelberg
• Scott Fewel
• Gerry Inman
• Patrick Lafferty
• Lawrence Lahm
• Henry Langhaim
• William Lloyd
• Tom McCullough
• L.L. Nelson
• Wilmer Post
• Donald Powel
• Dale Ramsay
• Ralph Risley
• Franklin Rosumny
• Dale Schrock
• Nicolai Shur
• David Smith
• Jack Stowaser
• John Swensen
• William Wick

John Swensen served as the first president of the newly formed Rotary Club of Greater Corvallis, and he quickly organized committees and set the first year’s goals. A notable accomplishment was a food booth at the Corvallis Fall Festival with proceeds donated to the Good Samaritan Hospital. So successful was the project that the club continues it as an annual event.

The club found uniqueness by initiating a “3-NOs” philosophy that is still practiced today: no fining, no smoking, and no singing. Under such early leaders as Pat Lafferty, president in 1977-78, membership was strong and weekly meetings included a good mixture of humor, fellowship, altruistic functions, and quality programs.

There was little membership growth during the early years. Members believed there was a fellowship advantage in having a smaller number of highly committed members. This philosophy, however, began to change during the mid-1980s as a new leadership emerged.

The last half of the 1980s and early 1990s saw a series of unusually strong leaders at the helm. These individuals brought change and a number of successes to the Rotary Club of Greater Corvallis.

Starting in 1987 under the leadership of Gary Campbell, the club grew significantly in organization, membership, and achievement. Gary Campbell’s high level of success spanned the full Rotary spectrum, bringing a new international perspective to the club, expanding the committee structure, and revising the bylaws and policies. Campbell went on to become District 5110 Governor in 1994-95.

One notable accomplishment involved Rotary International’s Polio Plus, a program intended to stamp out polio worldwide. Mike Sheets chaired the program, and the club surpassed its initial fundraising goal of $16,000 by raising $25,000. In addition, during Mike’s presidency in 1989-90, the club proved it could be successful in another major fundraising project called the Miata Ball—a black tie event in which a Miata sports car was auctioned.

Steve Fuller, president in 1990-91, expanded the club’s community service projects. His roll-up-your-sleeves attitude put Rotarians face-to-face, hand-in-hand with those in need, strengthening our club’s hands-on involvement in the community. Fuller’s programs increased community visibility and included such service projects as the Special Needs Picnic, Senior Citizens Barbecue, and the Community-wide Garage Sale programs.

Steve Uerlings served as president in 1997-98.  Steve showed excellent leadership and programs continued. He introduced the Sports Book program, a fundraiser for the local high schools.

Scott Zimbrick held the presidency in 2001-02 and received the District 5110 Rotarian of the Year award for his leadership and club growth.

Although it’s not possible to include a complete listing of individual Rotarian contributions here, it is important to note one more significant contribution during this era. Rotary International admitted women into Rotary in 1987. Joanne Kersey, president in 1994-95, came into the Rotary Club in 1988 immediately following the rule change. Her abilities in committee and organizational management allowed her to work well in what was then an all-male club. As president, Joanne had an active and successful year. She served not only as our club’s first woman president but blazed the way as the first area woman president. She set the stage in establishing Rotarian women as strong, effective leaders of Rotary.