The Elkton Rotary Club celebrated 100 years of community service Wednesday by learning the history of the local civic group.
The club was chartered on Thursday, February 14, 1924, and Elkton was said to be the smallest town in the world in which a Rotary Club existed. Robert Martin, a Todd County native – who served as the Chief Financial Officer for the City of Hopkinsville for around 20 years, presented an oral presentation of the club’s history.
Martin told Rotarians the first meeting of a Rotary Club took place on February 23, 1905, in Chicago. The organization received its name because members of the first club would rotate where the meetings were held between their businesses.
He added that the Rotary Club of Elkton was an experiment of sorts.
The club was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Franklin, Kentucky, which was formed some two years earlier. Martin shared the names of the first officers for the Elkton club.
He also shared the names of the 15 original members of the club.
While a member of the neighboring Hopkinsville Rotary Club, Martin said he is proud of the work the Elkton club has accomplished.
2024 marks the 35th year that Martin has been a Rotarian, his service started with the Elkton club, and he transferred his membership to the Hopkinsville club about 15 years later when he accepted his position with the city.
The club takes on its biggest community event from Friday, March 22 to Friday, March 29, with its annual scholarship auction. The auction will be hosted on the Bolinger Real Estate and Auction website. More details about the auction can be found at WEKTradio.com.
His entire 26-minute presentation can be heard below:
