Identity area
Type of entity
Corporate body
Authorized form of name
Rotary Club of Fredericton
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
Fredericton branch organized in 1922
History
Rotary International, the first international service club, was founded 23 February 1905 by Paul P. Harris, of Chicago, Illinois. Drawing its members from the ranks of business and professional leaders, the association seeks to provide humanitarian service, to promote high ethical standards in all vocations, and to build good will and peace throughout the world. Initially operating under the name Rotary, the association was renamed National Association of Rotary Clubs in August 1910. Following the formation of clubs in Canada and Great Britain, the name was changed to International Association of Rotary Clubs in 1912 and shortened to Rotary International in 1922.
The Fredericton Rotary Club was organized in April 1922 at the Imperial Restaurant with Mayor J. A. Reed presiding. It received a charter in June of that year as club no. 1199. Over the years, Fredericton Rotarians have raised money in support of physically disabled children, relief projects, charitable organizations (Salvation Army, Red Cross, Victorian Order of Nurses), and summer camps for children through the annual Rotary Radio Auction and other fundraising activities. In 1955 the Fredericton Club was incorporated by letters patent as Rotary Club of Fredericton, N.B. Inc. The original incorporators included Ralph St. J. Freeze, William J. West, H. Lester Smith, Clifford W. Vail, Harold H. Pickard, John Kilburn, A. M. Addington, Herbert H. Gunter, R. E. Tweeddale, Percy G. Thompson, and P. O. Beaton. In 2001 the club continues to serve the city of Fredericton and surrounding area.