About Us

History of the Burlington Rotary Club

The Burlington Rotary Club was chartered on February 7, 1923, and is a part of District #7850, which includes Clubs in Southern Quebec; Northern Vermont and Northern New Hampshire. Four Burlington Rotarians have served as District Governors. The Club’s first president was Warren Austin, Vermont Senator and first US Ambassador to the United Nations. We're the largest Rotary Club in the State of Vermont with 92 members.

Many distinguished guests have visited the Burlington Club over the years, including two US Vice-Presidents (Calvin Coolidge and Charles Curtis), and most of Vermont's Senators, Congressmen and Governors. Paul Harris, a native of Wallingford, Vermont and founder of Rotary International was a student and honorary-degree holder from the University of Vermont. He visited the Burlington Club on numerous occasions.

Important milestones over the years include providing emergency assistance during the famous flood of 1927; the staging of four District Spring Conferences; and special programs on the occasion of the Club's 25th, 40th, 50th and 75th anniversaries. In 1986, the Club established the first Volunteer of the Year award dinner. In September 1987, four women became the first female members of the Burlington Rotary Club. Many women are now committee chairs, directors and officers. Bobette Scribner became the first woman President in 1995. We have had two additional women serve as Club President since that time. In October 1995, we hosted the District Rotary Foundation Meeting which included inducting 10 new Rotarian Paul Harris Fellows.

Community Service and fund raising to provide contributions to scores of community needs and projects has required major efforts over the years in many different ways. The Club has donated over $200,000 for local community service projects in the past 10 years alone.

Boys and Girls Club: annual auction (30 years) YMCA The Salvation Army Dismas House (half-way house) Burlington Skateboard Park Burlington Multi-Generational Center Lake Champlain Basin Science Center Good News Garage Burlington Police Department DARE program Various environmental projects Assistance to the elderly Special community needs projects Adoption of City Hall Park Seed money to new community projects

Revenue generating activities have included art auctions, air shows, Rotary Extravaganzas, the sale of Vermont Dividend Books, and a Bed and Breakfast during the fall foliage season to host Rotarians from around the world in our homes. In May 1997, the first annual Rollicking Rotary Revue was held at the Flynn Theatre.

This Club has helped form seven new Rotary Clubs in the area, encouraging and assisting in their growth:

Essex Junction (1966) Charlotte-Shelburne (1971) South Burlington (1985) Grand Isle (1989) Colchester (1990) Williston (1995) Burlington "Sunrise" (2002)

International Service has long played a strong role in Burlington Rotary operations. With personal commitments and financing the Club has participated in 8 major projects:

Vermont-Honduras Alliance Project; with the Rotary Club of La Paz, Bolivia American Field Service program Rotary sponsored UN Model Assembly Critical Issues Conference Marshall Islands: medical supplies project Madras, India: financing constructing of a community building Group Study Exchange: Pakistan, Korea & India Tegucigalpa, Honduras: flood relief from the disaster of 1998, and Sister Club

Rotary Foundation has received enthusiastic Club support. Total contributions to-date exceed $175,000. Our Club has had 123 Paul Harris Fellows, many with multiple donations. 46 current active members hold Paul Harris Fellowships (50%).

Current Activities include:

Interact Club at the Burlington High School
Blood Drive for the Red Cross
Volunteering at the Vermont Special Olympics
Cooking at Dismas House (a home for recently released non-violent offenders)
A Children’s Literacy program that has included distribution of books and reading to pre-school children and other early readers
City Hall Park landscaping and garden improvements and music in the park concert series
Hosting a Rotary Youth Exchange Student
Rotary Speech contest for young people
Supporting students in RYLA
Raising funds and awareness for clean-water projects
Christmas Bell-Ringing for the Salvation Army
Annual Hoopapalooza Fundraising Event

Some Club Traditions include:

Singing of America the Beautiful
Wearing Rotary Pins
Introducing yourself and apologizing to the guest speaker when leaving early
Bringing a guest to club meetings
Happy fines for recognition
Fines for having name ($1) and picture ($5) appear in the news
Volunteer for AT LEAST one service event
Recognition for birthdays and anniversaries ($1 per year o Sam Bloomberg tradition)
Maple syrup to a visiting Rotarian traveling from some distance
Swapping of banners when visiting foreign clubs

Welcome

Service above Self

In preparation for becoming President of the Rotary Club of Burlington, I attended a Presidents training session during which all incoming Presidents were asked to high-light their clubs service projects. I quickly started writing, and by the time it became my turn to speak my list was 17 items long. The entrees ranged from Hands for Honduras to Pure Water for the World, from recognizing Burlingtons fine Police Force to awarding medals to some very special athletes at the Special Olympics; from a beautification project for the Gateway to Burlington to planting flowers at City Hall Plaza. My list went on and on, and it was the same for many of the others. Service above Self is more than a slogan; it is a way of life for the Rotary Club of Burlington and 32,000 Rotary Clubs around the world.

Why Join?

The Rotary Club of Burlington offers a way to experience Burlingtons rich civic and city life while expanding ones international scope. The cornerstone of the club is Mondays weekly luncheon meeting featuring distinguished speakers and other activities, events and community projects. You will build friendships among business and professional leaders who share interest in Burlington, but also have a global outlook. You will be enriched and educated by stimulating speakers on topics of local, national and international interest. Members and their service projects support the City of Burlington, Chittenden County, the State of Vermont and international communities through philanthropy and volunteer projects.

Membership in Rotary will help one expand global understanding through a diverse fraternity, welcoming visitors from Rotarys 32,000 clubs world-wide, scholarship exchange programs and Rotary travel opportunities. The objective of The Rotary Club of Burlington is to promote a peaceful, prosperous, just and sustainable world in partnership with Rotary Clubs World-wide.

Come join us any Monday at noon at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Burlington and see if Rotary membership is for you. Come be a part of the 1.2 million business, professional and community leaders from more than 200 countries who are dedicated to the advancement of international understanding and who are providing humanitarian service and building goodwill and peace in the world.

Yours in Rotary,

Kim Wichert, President

The Rotary Club of Burlington