Our History

The Georgetown Rotary Club was given charter 1525 by Rotary International of Chicago, III. on October 10, 1923. The international service organization was organized by lawyer Paul Harris in 1905 to give men from various occupations, or “classifications” as he called them, to meet weekly in small groups around the world. Heavy emphasis was put on good programs and attendance rules. Their guide was the four-way test of ethical conduct in business, and their objective was participation in vocational, community, and international service. Of particular importance has been the work of the Rotary Foundation in sponsoring the exchange of international students. This was the special interest of Will R. Manier of Nashville, Tennessee, the District Governor who inducted the Georgetown Club in 1923. 

The Georgetown Club was sponsored by the Lexington Rotary Club and consisted of twenty-

eight community leaders led by its first president, Porter H. Nunnelley. They first met in the

Maplewood Inn on East Main Street, a boarding home run by Mrs. Webster. After several other locations, the club finally settled on the Lancaster Hotel at Main and Broadway for several years before the building was torn down. The weekly Tuesday luncheons were served by Zelma Padgett and her crew. In the late 1930’s the club started giving college scholarships to outstanding and deserving graduates of Garth High School. One of the first recipients was

David Blythe who later became Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of

Kentucky. In 1947, under the leadership of Elroy Mallard, the club started a charity horse show at Marshall Field near the new airport on Lexington Road which continued until the 1990s. In the 1970s, the show was moved to the new county park on the Cincinnati Pike north of Georgetown. There the Rotary Club furnished the new show ring and worked with the county and Kiwanis Club in utilizing and improving the facilities over the years. Over one hundred students have benefitted from the funds from the Rotary Club at their annual horse show each year in the middle of May.

In other activities, the club furnished a room at the John Graves Memorial Hospital and donated money to worthy causes such as the Polio-Plus Rotary International campaign to eliminate the dreaded disease from the world. Sam Hill Jr., of Georgetown College received a Rotary Foundation grant to study in Scotland, and students came from Sweden, China, and Germany to study at Georgetown College using Rotary grants. They were shepherded by J. Foley Snyder, Registrar at the college, who was an active Rotarian most of his life. He attended international conventions in Chicago, Nice, France, Denver, and Detroit. In 1958-59, he served as Governor of District 674, which included clubs in Eastern Kentucky. In that capacity, he played a role in the establishment of Camp KYSOC for handicapped children near Carrollton. Bill Henry later served as District Governor in 1965-66. In 1973, the clubs at Cynthiana, Georgetown, Hazard, Maysville, Paris, and Somerset joined together to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of their founding in 1923.

In 1995, the club was 40 members strong and met at the Golden Corral on Paris Road in

Georgetown. Programs ranged from local activities, international events, visiting officials, and the annual Christmas Party for needy children at the local elementary schools. A ladies night was held each year at the Spindletop Center. We continued with good speakers, making

donations to Polio-Plus, Scholarships, and more. In 1998, with 48 members, we celebrated our 75th anniversary. At that time we also celebrated the life of Paul Harris Fellow and long-time member, Milton “Shorty” Price. Shorty passed away just a few months after receiving an award for 50 years of perfect attendance. Another one of our members and Paul Harris Fellow, William “Bill” Henry who never missed a meeting in over 50 years and would tell the story of attending a meeting on his honeymoon. Membership now includes women and embraces a wide range of classifications such as manufacturing, medicine, law, finance, retailing, education, and service professions. Katy Prather was our first female club president. Our club changed the major fundraiser from the Horse Show to a National Soap Box Derby. It ran from 2002-2006 and was a major event widely received in the community. 

Through the 2000’s we continued to focus on the youth of our community and the world. We

accepted a student from Finland, sent a student to Japan, and entertained an adult group from Brazil. We give $1500 scholarships to each high school. The Kite Festival began in 2007 and now funds scholarships. Our children’s Christmas Lunch with Santa and gifts is a big success. We ring the Bell for the Salvation Army, fix meals for the Gathering Place, and give to non-profits. From 2005-2019 we gave every 3rd grader a dictionary and every 4th grader a thesaurus in the Scott County School system. We started an InterAct Club at Elkhorn Crossing School that was very successful up until Covid and school shutdowns. During covid years we met through Zoom and since have had to rebuild. We resurrected the Kite Festival as our main fundraiser. We currently meet at Galvins at noon on Tuesdays. We continue to share the vision of Paul Harris and Service Above Self through our projects and continue to embrace the four-way test.