Rotary Club of Plattsburgh

The Rotary Club of Plattsburgh (also known as the Plattsburgh Rotary Club) is one of 65+ clubs within Rotary District 7040, which encompasses Northern New York in the United States and the provinces of Eastern Ontario and Western Québec plus the Nunavut Territory of Canada. While a majority of the clubs have less than 25 members, the Plattsburgh Rotary Club is one of the three largest clubs in the district with over 115 active members.

A Brief History of the Rotary Club of Plattsburgh

The first meeting of the Rotary Club of Plattsburgh was held on March 3, 1926 which was officially chartered on April 1, 1926, with 20 outstanding members of the Plattsburgh community.  They were:

Regular weekly meetings were held on Wednesdays at 12:30 p.m. at the Witherill Hotel, located on Margaret Street (current location of Arnie Pavone Parking Lot closest to the Strand Center for the Arts in downtown Plattsburgh).  Although the hotel is no longer in existence, the club continues to meet weekly on Wednesdays at 12:00 p.m. in the dining hall at MHAB Lifeskills Campus, 14 Dormitory Drive in Plattsburgh, NY.

The First 25 Years

During the first quarter century of its existence as our nation endured the Great Depression, Prohibition and World War II, the Rotary Club of Plattsburgh responded to many community needs through local programs including the Community Chest (predecessor of the United Way), Children’s Clinic (predecessor of BHSN), City Public Library, March of Dimes, City Youth Commission, and even the improvement of City lighting. By the end of the 1940s, as the Rotary Club of Plattsburgh continued to benefit many other organizations in the local community, the initial membership of 20 had quadrupled to 92.

The Second 25 Years

As the club was maturing in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, the Plattsburgh Air Force Base was expanding, and Interstate 87 was opening the Adirondack Mountains to the growing traveling public. The Vietnam War was on everyone’s mind and the North Country’s first major shopping mall was opening.  The membership of the Rotary Club of Plattsburgh continued to increase to over 125 and about 1965, the meeting place was shifted from The Witherall Hotel to the newly-opened Howard Johnson's facility on Route 3 (where Best Western and 99 Restaurant are currently located). The community was growing, and Club members continued to hold some very successful fundraising events, e.g., Harlem Globetrotters, an annual golf tournament and Rotary Radio Day.  These events provided revenue to support many exciting programs, such as student trips to Washington, D.C. and Albany (the state’s capitol); nursing scholarships; Beartown Ski Area T-bar; canoes for Boy Scouts; YMCA summer camp development including construction of the Rotary Lodge; Easter and Christmas baskets; and a Battle of Valcour Island diorama presented to the Clinton County Historical Museum to commemorate the country's Bicentennial.  

The Third 25 Years

In the 1980s and ‘90s, the Winter Olympics returned to nearby Lake Placid for a second time, the Fitzpatrick Cancer Center at CVPH was opened and the Base Realignment & Closure Committee (BRACC) decided to close the Plattsburgh Air Force Base which was a Strategic Air Command base. At the same time, several major national and international programs and services were initiated by Rotary International and the Rotary Club of Plattsburgh participated with great interest.

PolioPlus, an on-going commitment to eradicate polio from the face of the Earth by immunizing children around the world led to the Club contributing $63,000 (188% of the amount requested) to the effort. The club supported its first Health, Hunger and Humanity (3-H) Agricultural Program to improve the lives of small farmers and their families in Ecuador through more efficient ways of farming on mountainous terrain.

Over this time period, some 20 students – locally and from afar – received the support of the Club through the Rotary Youth Exchange Program. Numerous major and minor community programs continued to receive support from the Rotary Club of Plattsburgh, including:

New, high-spirited fundraisers were also undertaken by local Rotarians to subsidize the growing list of programs, including Bee Bop Dance, Las Vegas East, Rotary Auction, Rotary International Fishing Classic, Vacation Raffle, 50-50 and the Roducky Derby.

In the midst of all of the Club’s activities, things were also changing for all Rotarians.  Smoking was no longer permitted at club meetings by the late 1980s. Then, in 1987, a particularly significant year in Rotary history was also noted in the Plattsburgh club. Internationally, women were invited to become members of Rotary (although it wasn't official until 1989).  Elle Berger was the first of four women invited to join the Rotary Club of Plattsburgh that year. Of the four, Elle is still a member of the Club, which has added many other women to the ranks and leadership of the once formerly exclusive men’s club.  The club’s first female President, Rosemary Souza-Botten, was installed eight years later in 1995.

What the Future Held in the Next 25 Years

 

Even as the Rotary Club of Plattsburgh paused to celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2001 as a milestone, the Club’s membership continued to provide “Service above Self” to the community – locally and internationally. This effort continues today. 

The Club provided the financial support for students at Champlain Valley Technical Educational Center to construct houses that were later sold to local individuals.  The Club also constructed Centennial Park lakeside at the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base honoring the first 100 years of Rotary International in 2005 (located just east of Valcour Brewing Company).

At the same time, the Rotary Club of Plattsburgh took on a major effort to improve the health of the poorest of the poor in Nicaragua.  Obtaining a Global Grant through The Rotary Foundation in cooperation with Rotary Clubs of Managua, Bergen-Highlands-Ramsey Club (N.J.), and the Plattsburgh Rotary Club, a total of 204 latrines were constructed over a two-year period. These latrines improved the health of people who desperately needed basic necessities and assistance.  These clubs also provided additional funding to complete the construction of the Paul Harris School in downtown Managua (started by a Rotary club in that city) and provided another 50 additional outhouses to extremely poor residents of the northern Nicaraguan town of Diriamba, all with education regarding sanitation and its connection to good health.

 

When the shuttered Strand Theater in downtown Plattsburgh was purchased by a local nonprofit, Club member Stephens Mundy & his wife, Leigh, approached the Club to support the theater's restoration efforts.  Along with our major financial contribution in 2010-11, members along with our Rotaract Club, volunteered to remove the old theater seats along with other objects to be disposed of prior to restoration.  Our financial support aided the efforts in meeting the goals set and, to date, our Club continues to support a variety of programming efforts of the Strand Center for the Arts.

Over its first 70 years, the Club also sponsored several other nearby Rotary clubs that wanted to form, including the AuSable Forks Rotary Club (1932), the Plattsburgh Sunrise Rotary Club (1987), and the Champlain-Rouses Point Club (1997-no longer in existence since the closure of major industries in the Northern Tier). The Plattsburgh Rotary Club also served as a focal point for community leaders by bringing state and national leaders to Plattsburgh to discuss important issues at the regular club meetings. 

 

The Plattsburgh Rotary Club has maintained a membership of over 125 while many clubs in North America have seen their membership dwindle.  This Club stays vibrant by rethinking what we do, what our community needs and how we can make it happen.  In 2010, the Club partnered with the Plattsburgh Sunrise Club to install six road signs promoting our two clubs and meeting locations/days/times at all entries to the city from the north, west and south.

 

Joining with the Battle of Plattsburgh Committee, our Club provides marshals for the annual parade and established the annual Bed Races, with the assistance of the student-athletes at SUNY Plattsburgh and Clinton Community College, as a fundraiser. The Club held its annual RoDucky Derby at the MacDonough Monument for a number of years in conjunction with Battle of Plattsburgh festivities and raised thousands of dollars from these two events.

 

We began creating and selling a Holiday Ornament during this time which has featured many local historic and celebrated sites which appeals to not only current residents, but also to those who no longer live in the region connecting with their memorable experiences.

 

A remarkable service to the City was created by Outdoor Art on the wall which faces a City Parking lot at the corner of Court and Margaret streets.  This District Grant-funded project is a postcard-like WELCOME to all who enter our City via Route 9 from the North since the summer of 2022.

Beyond Our Centennial

 

Since 1926, when a group of local businessmen sought to join an international effort to promote “…world understanding and peace through local, national and international humanitarian, educational and cultural programs…,” the Rotary Club of Plattsburgh has continued that focus.  The programs, services and assistance provided also encourage fellowship and conduct that benefits others in the local community and beyond.