About Us

1918 Early in January 1918, nine business and professional men of Lancaster gathered at an informal dinner at the new Martens Hotel and discussed the possibilities of forming a Rotary Club. With the nine founders and nine additional men, the first regular meeting of the Lancaster Rotary Club was held in the parlor of the new Martens Hotel on April 1, 1918 and Rotary in Lancaster was launched to a successful beginning. The Club rapidly filled the required 25 classifications and a Charter was issued. In less than six months the total enrollment increased to more than 80. The annual dues were set at $10.

1921 The Charity Ball was founded through the efforts of George Wyman. These festive events became the annual social highlight of the year in Lancaster. There was live music from an orchestra or band, dancing and food. This was a primary fund raiser for the Club with proceeds going to make possible programs such as an annual Christmas Party for the crippled children and the less fortunate in Lancaster.

1923 Property, now known as Camp Ki-Y-Ro, was purchased as “Camp Ro”.  50% of the camp was offered to Lancaster Kiwanis in 1939 in exchange for improvements (pool).  Rotary provided over 500 children with clothing, shoes, stockings, candy and toys using funds raised from the Charity Ball.

1925 Rotary established a crippled children’s clinic (50 kids) seen by orthopedists and pediatricians.  Rotary established a special public-school class for crippled children.

1926-27 The District Assembly was held in Lancaster for the first time. Our club acted as hosts to a large Inter-City meeting in conjunction with this assembly.

1933-34 Bronze cast highway markers were placed on all highways leading to Lancaster with date, time, and place of Rotary meetings. On the recommendation of William V. Fisher, chairman of Community Service, the Aims and Objects Committee, asked the Board of Directors to authorize the Rotary Club to take the lead in establishing a Community Chest in Lancaster. This was not authorized by the Board, but it is quite significant in that just 11 years later, the Lancaster and Fairfield County War Chest of over $102,000 was raised in 30 days. The Community Chest eventually became the United Way of Fairfield County. 

1940-41Rotary was instrumental in organizing the Fairfield County Crippled Children’s Society.

1942Meetings changed from evenings to noon meetings.

1947 The founder of Rotary, Paul Harris, died in Chicago. An outpouring of Rotarian donations made in his honor totaled $2 million dollars and launched the Rotary Foundation’s first program – Graduate Fellowships – later known as the Ambassadorial Scholarships. The Lancaster Rotary Club was the first Club in our district to respond at the 100% level to Rotary International’s request of $10 per member. Our 64 members contributed $640.

1950-51
Five concrete boxes were constructed by Club members for the city’s playgrounds.  Each carried a bronze Rotary emblem on the side wall.

1961-62
President Floyd Wolfe was featured in the September 1961 issue of “Rotarian” magazine publicizing the Lancaster Club as having the youngest president in the world. “Wolfie” was born on February 29th, so he was just 13 years old when he was elected President of the Lancaster Club.

1962-63
Under the Presidency of Dr. Hubert Eyman, Jr., the Club began the custom of inviting daughters and sons home on Christmas vacation from college to attend Rotary meetings.

1965-66
With Homer Echard as President, the Ohio University Branch College Fund Drive was an outstanding example of Rotary’s contribution of service and help to our community. The outstanding event of the Conference, as far as we were concerned, came out of the District 669 Nominating Committee as our Jim Miller was proposed as a District Governor Nominee for the Rotary Year 1967-68. We were delighted to officially induct James W. Miller as the Governor of District 669 at our first meeting on July 3rd.

1967-68
The kickoff meeting of our 50th Anniversary Year was held at Shaw’s party room on January 8. On February 29th, our genial, highly respected, witty, humorous and valuable member, C. Floyd Wolfe, celebrated his 15th birthday anniversary. The District Conference was held in Lancaster from April 19-20 with 411 persons in total registration which included 87 host Rotarians.

1985
Lancaster Rotary embraces the newly announced Polio Plus program to immunize all the children of the world against Polio. The Lancaster Rotary Club charters the newest club in the district, the Lancaster-Sherman Rotary Club. 

1988
Lori Marinacci was initiated as the first woman into the Lancaster Rotary Club.

1991
Lancaster Rotary Foundations joined the Fairfield County Foundation. 

1992
Lancaster Rotary began their participation in Operation Smile.

1993-94
Lancaster Rotary Club’s successful auction for the Literacy Program raised over $65,000.

2000
Lancaster Rotary Club awarded 86 scholarships totaling $157,018 through the Lancaster Rotary Foundation. This is the largest amount awarded in the Club’s history.  Since 1991, the Lancaster Rotary Club has award more than 2.4 million dollars in scholarships to students in Fairfield County.

2004
Lancaster Rotary Club, the Lancaster Sherman Club and the Baltimore Rotary Club, spurred by the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, sponsored an Ethics Award program for Fairfield County Businesses. Rotarian John T. Dye was instrumental in getting this Award established.

2005-06
The Lancaster Rotary Club started participating in the Dictionary Project by buying and distributing dictionaries for all third-grade students in Lancaster.  We have distributed over 600 dictionaries each year to students in eleven elementary schools throughout Lancaster.

2007
The Annual Forest Rose Christmas Party earned the Club the 2006 Award of Excellence a statewide award sponsored by Ohio Public Images. 

2008
First year that the Rotogram was emailed to members – over 85% of our Rotarians receive the Rotogram electronically.

2009
The first Interact Club meeting was held at Fisher Catholic High School on March 24. This was also the first year of Shower the People, a concert and fundraising event to benefit non-profit organizations across Lancaster. 

2011
RYLA – Rotary Youth Leadership Awards. The club began marketing to send 2 students from Fairfield County in 2012.

2015
Dick Benadum was named the club’s first Rotarian of the Year, and hereafter, the annual Award was renamed the Richard A. Benadum Rotarian of the Year Award.

2018
The Lancaster Rotary Club Ethics Award was renamed the John T. Dye Rotary Ethics Award in memoriam of John, who passed away that year. The Lancaster Rotary Club celebrated a Century of Service above Self!

2020
COVID forces the club to shut down its meetings. By May of that year, meetings were being held via Zoom.

2021
Ohio University - Lancaster grants the club meeting space in its gymnasium as the club moves from a hybrid meetings (In person and Zoom) to fully meeting in person.

2025
Club moves again to the Fairfield County Levacy Center on Sheridan Drive.