100 Candles on the Cake!
 

Posted by James Bruckbauer
 
Our Rotary club’s 100th anniversary is a huge deal. And check this out: The big birthday will fall directly on the Friday of the 2020 Rotary Show.

We want to celebrate the club’s centennial in style. So a committee has been formed to explore the best way to honor the legacy of Rotary.
 
Dale Chilcote presented the results from some initial brainstorming and asked the club for their feedback and ideas. Dale stressed that no decisions have been made and that these are just initial ideas to get our brains moving.
 
The 100 Year Anniversary Committee is focused on three efforts:
 
Communicate: How does the club get the word out about the anniversary?
 
Suggestions include:
  • Banners, flags downtown and on the Parkway
  • A new website or link to the club website – what can we do to get the public to our website?
  • Social media: Facebook, Tweets, et al.,
    • Ask for stories - How have you been touched by Rotary?
  • Print collateral (centennial collector’s piece?)
  • Special Record Eagle collector’s supplement (with stories, photos, etc)
  • Series in the Record Eagle telling our story
  • Record and preserve our history
  • Movie/video of past 100 years
  • Archive historical documents and history (TC Library)
  • Input from the longest members of our club, Legacy of Leadership
  • Input from other groups about life 100 years ago.
  • Top 10 longest Rotarians interviewed.  Start now!!
  • Development of a centennial logo and refreshed Rotary apparel (hats, golf shirts, tees)
  • Rotary Moment Series on NPR
  • Rotarian Magazine article
  • Print ad series – impact of Rotary on individuals in the community
 
Celebrate: Should we throw a party?
  • Use the Rotary Show, April 29 - May 2, 2020, as the party?
  • Bring in A List entertainment and make the actual show the party for all 4 days. 
  • No charge for public, or what it may have cost back in 1920  (.25)
  • Street Party Downtown?:  Sponsor Friday Night Lights, close off Front Street, Band on the street before the Rotary Show
 
Commemorate: Should we do something special for the community?
Ideas include:
  • $1,000,000 project?  Multiple Projects vs One large project?
  • Project such as the Water Studies Institute
  • Program for schools to teach and demonstrate service
  • Environmental project
  • Park, Arboretum, Public Area
  • Downtown project
  • Open Space
  • Town Square
  • Clock Tower
  • Carillon Bells
  • Discovery Pier and/or Discovery Center Project
  • Explore the Shore – Bay or Boardman River Project
  • Historical Barns area
The committee also developed the following guidelines/thoughts to move forward…
  • Beneficial to ALL
  • Should it be an unmet need or luxury project?
  • Things today may not be the same as in 2020
  • Do not want to collaborate with other organizations.  This is a Rotary project.
  • What projects stand out the most?  Park Place, State Theater, Opera House, Discovery Pier
 
 
 
​