Rotary Club of Davis Centennial Celebration

Rotary Club of Davis to celebrate 100 years of service
The Rotary Club of Davis will mark its centennial with a community celebration from 5 to 8
p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4, at the Davis Veterans Memorial Center.
Founded in 1926 under the auspices of Rotary International, the Rotary Club of Davis has spent
a century combining service, fellowship and civic involvement. The original Davis club is now
one of three Rotary clubs in the city, along with Sunrise Rotary Club of Davis and Sunset Rotary
Club of Davis.
Tickets for the centennial dinner are $45 and include dinner by Simply Satisfied Catering. For
tickets, contact Donna Prebys at 630-803-7954.
Dave Scheiber will serve as master of ceremonies. The evening’s program will include a
presentation on a century of Davis Rotary by Michael Peterson and Jonathan Bayless, a Rotary
trivia contest led by Bruce and Marjorie Hartsough, and remarks about the club’s future from
Prebys, the club’s 2026-27 president.
The club began with 25 charter members and, by the early 1930s, had grown to nearly 30
members. Rotarians met Mondays at noon at the Terminal Cafe at Second and G streets. Early
activities included support for the Boy Scout Cabin, downtown Christmas-tree decorating,
contributions to a University Farm student-loan fund, sponsorship of a Picnic Day float trophy,
and individual assistance through the club’s charity committee.
As Davis and UC Davis expanded during the 1960s, the club developed a more formal approach
to community projects. Its longtime luncheon meetings were held at the Fellowship Hall of
Davis Community Church through the early 1990s.
The 1970s brought several important changes. The club launched its Turkey Barbecue that spring
as a major fundraiser for local projects. Now known as the Rotary Barbecue, the annual Central
Park event continues with Sunrise Rotary as co-sponsor.
Service projects from that era included planting trees and improving landscaping at Davis High
School, where Rotarians created Rotary Grove, and landscaping Davis Community Park with 75
trees along a walkway leading to the pool. The club also began international service in Fiji, first
helping cover freight costs for educational supplies and later funding four years of high-school
tuition for a student there.
By the 1980s, membership grew from about 110 members to 138. The club supported repairs to
the Boy Scout Cabin, built a parking lot at International House and a snack bar at the Little
League field on F Street, and continued its Fiji educational, medical and housing-support efforts.
The club also joined Rotary International’s PolioPlus initiative after it began in 1986.
Through changing times, the Rotary Club of Davis has remained focused on service projects,
community partnerships and fellowship among members. More information is available at
rotaryclubofdavis.com.