The Rotary Club of Quincy was founded in 1915 and has been proud to be the home club of 4 District Governors, Edwin Hillman (1927-28), Ira Bingaman (1933-34), Joseph Hirschinger (1947-48 and 1970) and William Gerdes (1969). We are proud to announce that past president Suzanne Ellerbrock is the District Governor for 2012-2013.
Over the years the club has donated funds for various community projects including a gazebo at the Clat Adams Riverfront Park and the rebuilding of the Indian Mounds Swimming Pool Complex.
In 2002, the club organized a tribute to one of its most famous members by holding a fundraiser dinner for the now late Mr. Quincy, Joe Bonansinga. The club established an endowed scholarship in Joe’s name at Quincy University that is given annually to a student majoring in Music or Communications.
Our oldest member, Darrell Peacher has been in the club for 59 years and has had perfect attendance for at least the last 35 years and probably longer.
Currently the club has over 100 members.
A major focus of our club is Education. Each week Rotarians take turns reading to 3rd grade students at Quincy’s Washington Elementary School. At Christmas time, we host a party for special education students complete with gifts from Santa and Mrs. Claus. We honor Vocational Students of the Month at our meetings during the school year and hold a Rotary Teen Career Day every spring when high school students get to job shadow Rotarians.
The Rotary Club of Quincy celebrated the 100th Anniversary of Rotary “Service Above Self” by hosting a bone marrow drive. Each year there are 31,000 new cases of Leukemia with 22,000 deaths. By hosting a bone marrow drive our club provided an opportunity for the community to give hope to Leukemia patients and their families. There were 300 donors that day and to date there is one known match!
The club annually teams up with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and a local meat processing store for the Rotary and Sportsman Fight Hunger Program. This program allows hunters to donate their deer to be processed with the meat going to the hungry people in Adams County. The Salvation Army assisted by organizing the meat delivery to those in need. Rotarians helped deliver the meat, advertise and raise funds for the project. In all hundreds of deer were donated and processed which amounted to over 23,000 pounds of venison meat.
In another annual project, Rotary partners with the National Wild Turkey Federation and the Adams County Chapter to give out more than 700 turkeys to needy families this Christmas. County Market/NFI provided the turkeys at cost and assisted in the delivery along with the Salvation Army who coordinated the pick up day.
To make these projects possible, the Rotary Club of Quincy has undertaken a variety of different fundraisers. The club just completed its traditional fundraiser of selling fruit and holiday baskets. In the past couple of years the club has begun serving non-alcoholic daiquiri’s and walking taco’s at area festivals and sporting events. This not only provides funds for club activities, but helps build community awareness for Rotary and fellowship among members.
