Marlborough – The Feb. 23 regular meeting of the Marlborough Rotary Club fell on the anniversary of the chartering of the first Rotary Club, in 1905 in Chicago. The Marlborough Rotary Club took the opportunity to celebrate Rotary International and its many charitable enterprises.
Paul Harris, a young lawyer in Chicago, wanted to create the same cordial environment he recalled from his youth in Vermont. He gathered a small group of businessmen who all wished to serve their communities while enjoying fellowship. That small club has grown to the largest service organization in the world.
With goals of bettering the community while striving to make the lot of people worldwide healthier and happier, Rotary's greatest achievement to date is the near eradication of polio from the world. PolioPlus, started by a single Rotarian in 1986, has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars, joined in later years by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Health organization, has rid the world of 99 percent of the disease.
At the event, Club President Elaine McDonald read a brief history of Rotary International before cutting the cake with the Rotary logo and best wishes on it.
The meeting was also marked by an induction of the club's latest member, Nick Hurston. He is Hudson resident who is an attorney with a firm in Westborough and has a business in Marlborough. The induction team, led by Joe Valarioti, consists of four additional past presidents who instruct the new member on a particular aspect of membership.
The club also presented an inspiring program of Ben Burger's (son of Rotarian Lynn Faust) church mission to Ecuador. Ben had many entertaining stories about the tribal people, their customs, their food and their wit.
For more information about the Marlborough Rotary Club or to join, visit www.marlboroughrotary.org or call Elaine McDonald at 978-838-9444.
