Effingham Noon Rotary Celebrates Its History

Members of the Effingham Noon Rotary Club did some reminiscing at their meeting January 9.

The Club is utilizing the month of January to review what Rotary is all about.  Four club members...Charlie Davis, Larry Waldhoff, Bill Schafer and Ron Diehl...focused on different areas in celebrating the history of the Noon Club, which was established in 1920.

The club first met in the Raleigh Hotel, which was located on the site of the new Dust and Son building downtown and next to the former City Hall.  The first Noon Club president was Ben F. Kagay.

The meeting place was decorated for the meeting with the banners brought to the club by those attending from clubs around the world and brought back by members when they made visits to those clubs.

(SOME OF THE BANNERS BROUGHT TO THE EFFINGHAM NOON ROTARY CLUB THROUGH THE YEARS FROM CLUBS AROUND THE WORLD)

Special recognition was also given any Noon Club members who have been in the club for 25 or more years.  Special recognition was given Ted Keller, who is the longest time member of the club, having joined in 1961.

(THOSE PRESENT WHO HAVE BEEN MEMBERS OF THE EFFINGHAM NOON ROTARY CLUB FOR 25 OR MORE YEARS: FRONT ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT--Russ Marvel, Larry Waldhoff, Newlin Martin, Art Schottman, Bill Schafer, John "Bud" Sills, Ted Keller and John Kingery; BACK ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT--Ron Diehl, Tod Lancaster, Mike Sehy, Norbert Soltwedel, Charlie Davis, Dave Ring, Claude Hudson, Monte Bartels and Charlie Brumleve)