# History Of Charlotte Providence Rotary Club

## (Formerly Charlotte East Rotary Club)

The Charlotte East Rotary Club was organized as a service project by the Rotary Club of Charlotte in 1969. Tebee Hawkins, a partner in the architectural firm of Marsh and Hawkins, chaired the organizing committee and recruited many of the charter members. The first meeting was held on September 8, 1969 in Barclay’s Cafeteria in the Amity Gardens Shopping Center on East Independence Boulevard with approximately 25 prospects in attendance. Of those, one member (Julian Culton) is still an active member of the club. The late Jim Wilson was elected as the first president. The club grew rapidly in the early years but has since maintained approximately 37 members.

The club has been active in public service projects and has contributed considerable time and money to local, national and international charities and humanitarian programs including one in Arequipa, Peru. One of the club’s most interesting fund raising efforts occurred in the mid 1980's when it sponsored a return of Polo to Charlotte. Under the leadership of Charles Carson the club organized a local team, arranged for a venue, cleared the field, sold tickets, handled parking and scheduled matches with out-of-town clubs. Charles Carson played on the local team.

Charlotte East began sponsoring the East Mecklenburg High School Interact Club and later Hickory Grove Christian High School Interact club. Beginning in 1996 the club has continually provided a four-year college scholarship for at least one of the Interact members each year. In some years that equated to four scholarships in one year.

In the spring of 2000, Charlotte East led a group of local Rotary Clubs in building a Habitat for Humanity Home. This effort was so successful that it has been repeated many years since with additional clubs joining the effort and completing the tenth home in 2010. In recent years, Jim Calder and Doug Bradley have been the leaders in this effort. The 2008 Rotary Habitat for Humanity Home was dedicated to the late Charles Dixon.

In the fall of 2001, under the direction of Fran Fesmire, assisted by the late Carter Lofton and Jim Davis, the Club sponsored a highly successful oyster roast/barbecue that continues as an annual fund raising effort. A silent auction is sometimes held in conjunction with this event.

In November of 2002, as part of the Open World Program funded by the Library of Congress, Charlotte East hosted four Russian leaders to introduce them to economic development in the U. S. The club hosted a second delegation in 2004 focused on health care.

Red Rocks Café & Bakery, in the Strawberry Hill development at the intersection of Providence and Sardis Roads became the current location for our meetings in 2004.

Two former members of Charlotte East have served as District Governor of Rotary- the late Charles Dixon (District 7680) in 2002-03 who was an active member in our club, and in 1985-1986, Mark Markanda, a former member. Mark served as Regional Rotary International Foundation Coordinator in 1995-97. Under Mark’s leadership, the club led the District in per capita giving to the Foundation in 1995-96, 1997-98 and 1998-99, and was second in 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2005-06.

The club sponsored a third Open World program in 2006 focused on law and justice. Russian attorneys spent a week touring law schools, law offices and the Courthouse. Club members under the leadership of Mary Ellen Shuntich and Fitz Lee, arranged the programs, transported the visitors and often hosted them in their homes. The club has also hosted a number of Rotary Ambassadorial students attending English as a Second Language study program.

The late Carter Lofton, moved Charlotte East into a leadership role for “Stop Hunger Now” in 2006, a program that packages meals to be shipped to relief agencies in poverty stricken nations. That program is still active today throughout this region and other national regions as well.