RGHF Institute 2010
ROTARY GLOBAL HISTORY FELLOWSHIP
10th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION –
CHICAGO OCTOBER 10-12, 2010
BY DICK MCKAY- RGHF SECRETARY/TREASURER EMERITUS
On 11 October 2000, Rotarian Jack Selway, Colorado, USA, conceived the idea of incorporating the histories of the first 50 Rotary Clubs on the internet. Since Rotary started in Chicago, I called him and offered the support of ROTARY/One in this effort. Within days, then DG 5470 Eddie Blender, Wichita #30 Club President Geri Appel, and New York #6 webmaster Matts Ingemanson joined our ranks. Shortly before the San Antonio Convention in June 2001, we decided to invite the officers of the first 50 clubs to a cocktail party, which we guaranteed. We were overwhelmed with the response and by the time we left the convention we had concluded we should preserve the first 100 clubs of the world. Today, we have histories of nearly 1,000 clubs, including more than half of the Rotary world’s districts, and many other projects beyond the clubs.
R/O Rotarian Angelo Loumbas provided the legal expertise which enabled us to successfully request Fellowship status from Rotary International. This was granted on 3 October 2003.
RGHF has a Board comprised of 100 members who represent 49 zones and zone sections. The board is convened online, monthly, over a three day period. There are currently 15 historians and 10 webmasters volunteering their time. RGHF has nearly 700 dues paying members and is growing rapidly. ($30.00 per year)
The website contains over 25,000 articles about the Global History of Rotary included in more than 2,000 pages on the internet. There are more than 100 separate projects underway at RGHF. This information is available free of charge to anyone accessing rghf.org.
The celebration of the 10th anniversary of RGHF was the launching pad for the first RGHF Institute. The purpose of the Institute is to find a handful of Rotarians who will dedicate their lives to history, so that thousands more might dedicate their lives to Rotary.
The events in photos and video – Full institute schedule here