TRIBUTE SECTION CLICK | Youngstown Rotary marking 100 years

YOUNGSTOWN

The Rotary Club of Youngstown celebrates a century of service to the community this week.

“For the past 100 years, individuals from across the [Mahoning] Valley have been gathering to make our community and our world a better place to live,” Paul Garchar Jr., club president, said in a statement.

The club was founded Feb. 1, 1915, by Youngstown architect Charles F. Owsley.

(VIEW SPECIAL 100-YEAR SECTION HERE)

“Charles was a very well-respected architect locally,” said Scott Schulick, club president from 2013 to 2014.

Schulick said the organization’s focus was not on business or networking, but providing professionals an opportunity to socialize and work together on community projects.

Since its founding, meetings took place throughout the downtown area, including Pick-Ohio Hotel (now Amedia Plaza), The Youngstown Club, and the downtown YMCA, where meetings now take place. Members would speak at meetings about their businesses, and eventually, others outside the club were invited to speak.

Membership peaked at more than 300 in the 1950s. At that time, the club sponsored other Rotary clubs in Boardman, Canfield, Hubbard, Struthers, Girard/Liberty and Austintown.

Garchar said the Rotary Club has about 90 members currently with about 30 members that have joined since 2013.

“With the renaissance of downtown, we’ve benefited from that,” he said.

Read more about the club in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.