St. Pete Rotary Club Celebrates Centennial Anniversary

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — To celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2020, the Rotary Club of St. Petersburg is raising $100,000 to provide meals for hundreds of children through the St. Petersburg Free Clinic's Pack-A-Sack program.

The program provides food every Friday during the school year to needy children. It is estimated that one in four children are food insecure. In Pinellas County, about 7,000 children go hungry every day.

To kick-off the drive, the club will hold a 100th anniversary gala event at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club on Saturday, Jan. 25. The event will include dinner, a silent auction and music by the Ocean Road Band. Tickets and sponsorships are available by contacting the Rotary office at 727-822-3277.

Chartered on Jan. 2, 1920, the Rotary Club of St. Petersburg was one of the first 200 clubs chartered by Rotary International (today there are over 35,000 clubs worldwide).

It was founded by former St. Petersburg Times editor William Straub and other community leaders. The club meets every Friday at noon at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club.

Later in 2020, the club will refurbish of the Straub memorial marker in Straub Park to recognize Straub’s contribution to the Rotary Club.

Since its inception, the club has lived by the motto “Service above Self,” and donates thousands of dollars and volunteer time every year to numerous St. Petersburg charitable causes. The club is also responsible for sponsoring /chartering numerous other Bay area Rotary Clubs.