Courtesy of Ray Leisy, Club Historian
The 1976 to 1977 Wooster Rotary Year began with the induction of a new Wooster Rotary President Roger Cook. President Roger began by thanking all of the Rotarians for their participation in the 1976 Bicentennial events and parade. Wooster Rotary sponsored a Wooster Rotary display in the windows of Real Estate Showcase managed by Don Pritchard. Wooster Rotary also had a float in the parade.
The speaker for the meeting on September 13th was Don Brown, President of the Wooster United Way. Brown explained that the Wooster United Way was formed in 1957 with 24 Board Members. Over the years Wooster Rotary members have been very involved in campaigns and as Board Members. Brown announced that the campaign chairman for the 1976 drive was Wooster Rotary’s own Clyde Webb.
The speaker for the meeting on September 13th was Don Brown, President of the Wooster United Way. Brown explained that the Wooster United Way was formed in 1957 with 24 Board Members. Over the years Wooster Rotary members have been very involved in campaigns and as Board Members. Brown announced that the campaign chairman for the 1976 drive was Wooster Rotary’s own Clyde Webb.
New members inducted into Wooster Rotary included Al Van Wie and Charles “Chuck” Dougherty. Both would play significant roles in Wooster Rotary in the coming years. Al was the basketball coach for the College of Wooster and Chuck was Director of Sales and Marketing at Diamonite in Shreve. Of course, Wooster Rotary eventually became the sponsor for the Al Van Wie Rotary Basketball Classic and Chuck went on to be one of the key managers for the Wooster Rotary Gallery Antique auction.
Announcement was made at the October 20th meeting that Wooster Rotarian Lowell Bourns had been nominated by District 665 to be District Governor for the District Rotary Year 1978 to 1979. Lowell became a member of Wooster Rotary in 1960 and was Wooster Rotary President from 1969 to 1970.
Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court William O’Neill was the speaker at the November 3rd meeting. He explained that his emphasis was on eliminating the backlog of cases in each of Ohio’s 88 counties. He concluded his remarks by pointing out that this nation was guided by the Rule of Law, not the Rule of Man. He cited the recent Watergate events as an example.
The annual senior citizens Christmas Party drew 350 seniors to the YMCA.
The biggest event for Wooster Rotary in the spring of 1979 and the longest running fund raising event for Wooster Rotary took place at the OARDC on May 14, 1977, at the Fisher Auditorium. Wooster Rotary’s first Gallery Antique Auction grossed $3,400. Co-Chairs were Dave Gallapoo and David Briggs. It was reported that Chuck Dougherty played a very important role by keeping the bidding going, thus ending up with 14 items himself.