When Kathy Martin joined the Rotary Club of Tacoma in 1989, she wondered how she could commit to being at a lunch meeting every Thursday. Now she can’t wait to get there.
“When you go there, you feel good,” Martin said. “It’s like ‘Cheers’ – everybody knows your name, and everyone is glad you came.”
The Rotary Club of Tacoma No. 8, one of the oldest Rotary clubs in the nation, celebrates its 100th anniversary with a dinner and gala tonight at the Hotel Murano.
The club counts nearly 400 members, many of whom start for a bit of business networking and stay because of the sense of community, fun and service the organization generates.
Fred Moisio, the club’s president, said Rotary provides a level playing field for everyone who joins. People go by their first name, whether they’re CEOs or just starting their careers.
The club has seen much change in its century of existence, including the admittance of women as members in the late 1980s. While the club’s beginnings were as a men’s business club, the focus now is on helping others. Current members are quick to quote the club’s motto – “Service Above Self.”
“When you look at the history of the Tacoma Rotary and what it’s done, there’s a lot of pride in that,” said Moisio.
One year after its founding, the Tacoma Rotary partnered with the YMCA to help young boys. In 1924, the club helped send 60 boys to the YMCA’s Camp Seymour, according to an archived photo from the Tacoma Public Library’s Northwest Room.
More recently, the group raised more than $1 million through grants and donations for the Goodwill Resources for Education and Career Help (REACH) Center, part of the new Milgard Work Opportunity Center.
Over the years, the group’s reach has grown more international, including sending millions of dollars in medical supplies to Mazatlan, Mexico, and helping bring clean drinking water and polio vaccine to parts of Ethiopia.
Martin loves being part of an organization that has “done so much, for so many years,” she said.
“You really feel like you are part of the community,” she said.
Tonight’s centennial celebration is sold out, said the event’s host, rotary member Jim Henderson. But people interested in learning more about Tacoma’s Rotary Club can visit the Web site at www.rotary8.org or call 253-473-7723.
Kelly Kearsley: 253-597-8573
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