Rotary International, founded on on 23 February 1905 by Paul Harris in Chicago, IL was visioned as a place where professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas and form meaningful, lifelong friendship. History of Rotary Club of Monrovia
The Rotary Club of Monrovia was originally chartered by Rotary International on January 24, 1964 as the first Rotary Club in Liberia with 29 members from business and professional classifications that ranged from engineering to medicine to insurance to transportation, law and many others. The club meetings were held on Fridays at 7pm at the Ducor Hotel. Following its initial charter in 1964, the Rotary Club of Monrovia sought others who were committed to Service Above Self and sponsored the Rotary Club of Yekepa in 1970, the Rotary Clubs of St Paul River and Buchanan in 1985, the Rotary Club of Gbargna in 1987 and the Rotary Club of Sinkor in 2008. The Rotary Club of Monrovia was instrumental in supporting the chartering of the Rotary Club of Harper in 2007. Harris, an attorney, wanted to create a professional group with the same friendly spirit he felt in the small towns of his youth. On 23 February 1905, Harris, Gustavus Loehr, Silvester Schiele, and Hiram Shorey gathered at Loehr’s office in Room 711 of the Unity Building in downtown Chicago. This was the first Rotary club meeting. They decided to call the new club “Rotary” after the practice of rotating meeting locations. Within five years clubs had formed across the country, from San Francisco to New York. In August 1910, Rotarians held their first convention in Chicago. The 16 clubs that existed at that time united to form the National Association of Rotary Clubs. In 1912, the name changed to International Association of Rotary Clubs to reflect the addition of clubs in other countries. The name Rotary International was adopted in 1922. By July 1925, Rotary had grown to more than 2,000 clubs and an estimated 108,000 members on six continents. Rotary’s reputation attracted presidents, prime ministers, and a host of other luminaries to its ranks — among them author Thomas Mann, diplomat Carlos P. Romulo, and composer Jean Sibelius. As Rotary grew, members pooled their resources and used their talents to serve their communities. The organization's dedication to this ideal is best expressed in its motto: Service Above Self.
