History:

On January 11, 1917, a small group of business men met in the Chamber of Commerce rooms in the City Hall to hear the story of Rotary. Bill Rose called the meeting to order and on motion by Speedy Swift, Bill Rose was chosen as temporary chairman. Rose then explained the principals of Rotary. Hi Henry and other members read excerpts from the Rotary pamphlets. From the Rotary literature at hand, the group became convinced of the advisability of associating together in a club whose motto, "Service Above Self," had enriched so many communities. The group decided to limit initial membership to 25. Members were appointed to serve on the committees for Constitution and Bylaws, Membership, and Permanent Organization.

The first noon luncheon was held at the Lexington Hotel on Friday, February 2, 1917. At that luncheon a meeting was called for Thursday noon at the Brunner. The Club meetings were held at Thursday noon for the first few years. For several years each regular luncheon meeting was chaired by a different member.

At that February 8th meeting, Edgar Turkle made a motion which was passed that each late member be fined 5¢ for each minute late to a maximum of 50¢. This fine procedure was used for a number of years. At the next meeting on the 15th of February - a motion was passed that fined each absent member, the cost of the meal if he did not notify the Secretary by 3 p.m. the previous day. This was later relaxed to 10 a.m. of the meeting day and was eventually dropped entirely.

The club was officially inducted into Rotary International and the charter presented at the Lexington Hotel on the evening of Thursday, April 5, 1917.

Rotarians were present not only from the sponsoring club, Massillon, but also from Akron, Canton, Cleveland and Toledo. Ed Kelsey of the Toledo Club delivered the principal address. Thus, the official birthday of the club is April 5.

The young service club immediately began its first Community Service project by distributing garden seed in Alliance at the request of the Rotary International President Klump. "Hi" Henry began Vocational Service activity by speaking to the high school students and enlisting them for work on farms. The first club delegate to an international convention was Bill Rose, who attended in Atlanta.

Projects this first year included seed distribution, Big Brother movement, a picnic for poor boys, (forty were entertained at the Country Club), advertising for the Second Liberty Loan Drive, participation in the Army YMCA Fund Campaign, raising potatoes as a fund raising project, and participation in the $750,000 Mount Union College Educational Jubilee Fund.

Rotary's interest in public playgrounds began in 1920 and has continued to the present. Playgrounds throughout the city had their origin from the original "Playground" Committee of Rotary.

Alliance Rotarians have always demonstrated their motto, "Service Above Self" in their many endeavors over the years. The work of the Crippled Children's Committee led to providing a completely equipped Physical Therapy Department in the Alliance City Hospital.

The twenty-fifth anniversary of the Rotary Club was celebrated May 5-6, 1942, as Alliance Rotarians and their Rotary-Ann's entertained over eight hundred visitors from District #158 (now 6650), representing forty-six clubs in northeastern Ohio. Speaker for the occasion was Dr. Bruce Baxter, Bishop of the Methodist Church and past President (1924-25) of the Alliance Rotary Club.

Our Club has provided leadership to Rotary International. Two Alliance Rotarians, Dillon Crist (1936-37) and Arthur Sayles (1953-54) served as District Governors.

A historic event occurred in 1974 - the first application for membership from a woman was received and denied. On November 2, 1988 Debra Able, Barb Graf, Paula Goldman, Carole Reed and Mary Lou Plavka were inducted as the first women in the Alliance Rotary Club.

The first Antique Auction was held in March 1975. This became an annual fundraising event.

The Alliance Rotary Club celebrated the Seventy Fifth Anniversary of the founding of the Club on June 10, 1992. The meeting was held at the Alliance Country Club. The speaker was the Honorable Thomas Moyer, Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court.

Since its earliest days, the Club has been a benefactor to the youth of Alliance. In more recent years, this support has included the YMCA and the Alliance Area Youth Center, now known as the Robertson Youth Center.

The Alliance Rotary Club is constantly fulfilling its purpose of unselfish service, the ideal of "doing something for somebody else." Over the years Alliance Rotarians have stood shoulder to shoulder, each member carrying a share of the work that needs to be done. So long as there is a single handicapped child who might be restored to a life of happy usefulness; so long as there is need for public institutions; so long as practices in business and professions remain ethically questionable--there exists the need for Rotary service.