The club will celebrate 75 years of fund-raising and friendship March 26. For many members, the club offers more than weekly lunches and business connections. Rotary gives them a sense of belonging and a feeling that they're making a difference. The club's main fund-raisers are the Abilene Sunburn Grand Prix in the spring and the Shootout Drag Race in the fall. This year may be the last for the events, though, the Airport Development Board has decided the races are not compatible with plans for the airport.
Rotary projects are evident all over town.
Downtown park benches, an Abilene Police Department museum, a Robertson Prison Unit hospitality house and the Abilene Zoo's festival gardens are among Rotarians' projects. Even the zoo's monkeys have benefited from new cages, Propst said. The club's newest project is restoring old, donated vehicles and giving them to needy families without transportation. Six vehicles were given away in the last eight months, Propst said. B.C. Roberson's fondest memory of volunteering with the Rotary Club of Abilene is parading around as a skunk in area communities to lure people to attend the fair.