Rotary International to Celebrate 100 Years in Hawaiʻi

By Maui Now Staff

Rotary International District 5000 will celebrate “100 Years of Service with Aloha” in Hawaiʻi on Wednesday, July 8, from 6 to 9 p.m., with a grand lūʻau at Lanikuhonua at the Ko Olina Resort.

Billy V, ‘The Voice of Hawaiʻi’ and longtime Rotary member, will serve as the master of ceremonies.

Rotary arrived in Hawaiʻi 10 years after the organization’s birth in Chicago in 1905. Locally, it has grown to include more than 1,800 members in clubs on Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, Maui, Lānaʻi and Hawaiʻi Island.

“Rotary International is an amazing organization that truly and positively affects the lives of people all over the world,” said Del Green, Rotary International District 5000 governor for 2015-16. “We are honored to welcome our Rotary International president, K.R. “Ravi” Ravindran, all the way from his home in Sri Lanka to help us celebrate 100 years of Rotary in Hawaiʻi.”

Rotary International is one of the world’s first service organizations, consisting of business, professional and community leaders. Their mission is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a worthy enterprise.

RI is comprised of over 1.2 million members worldwide from 34,282 clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas.

The main focuses of Rotary International to maximize local and global impact include: promoting peace, fighting disease, providing clean water, protecting mothers and children, supporting education and growing local economies. Rotary International, Rotary clubs and The Rotary Foundation all work together to make lasting improvements in communities and around the world.

For more information about Rotary in Hawaiʻi or to join a local club, go online.