Rotary Club of Dayton, Ohio
Welcome!
The Rotary Club of Dayton is a fellowship of diverse business and professional leaders who commit their time and talent to staying informed and serving the club, the community and the world.
The Rotary club of Dayton was organized May 27, 1912 and was chartered as the 47th club of Rotary International on June 2, 1913.
Our Rotary Club is 109 years old. So many things in society have changed over the course of our club’s existence.
Orville Wright, the inventor of flight, was an early member of the Rotary Club of Dayton. Dayton Rotarians have witnessed both the Wright Flyer’s first flight and moon landings. We have taken the automobile from an open carriage, to efficient battery-operated vehicles. We have witnessed partyline telephones go to hand-held wireless devices carried by everyone. Entertainment went from radio to the television to computers that are small enough to fit in our purse or pocket and carry on planes.
Society has gone through so many changes. In our Club’s 109 year history we have experienced two world wars; Korea; Vietnam; Desert Storm; World Trade Towers, 9/11; a war on terrorism; devastating tornados; and now the COVID-19 pandemic. Our society today is far different than when our club was born in 1912. Our members are different also.
The Rotary Club of Dayton was once a business-only club that mirrored Paul Harris’s thinking of what Rotary should be: Businessmen learning about each other’s business, doing business with each other based on a foundation of trust.
The Rotary Club of Dayton today must be representative of our surroundings. We are a group of current and future leaders who work in government, in the corporate world or in the not-for-profit world while we focus on building productive relationships and serving our community. We are individuals from different genders, different races, different backgrounds, and different
religions. And we are resilient!
The Mission of The Rotary Club of Dayton is to foster a fellowship of diverse business and professional leaders who commit their time and talent to staying informed and serving the club, the community and the world.
A wheel has been the symbol of Rotary since our earliest days. The first design was made by Chicago Rotarian Montague Bear, an engraver who drew a simple wagon wheel, with a few lines to show dust and motion. The wheel was said to illustrate “Civilization and Movement.” Most of the early clubs had some form of wagon wheel on their publications and letterheads. Finally, in 1922, it was decided that all Rotary clubs should adopt a single design as the exclusive emblem of Rotarians. Thus, in 1923, the present gear wheel, with 24 cogs and six spokes was adopted by the “Rotary International Association.” A group of engineers advised that the geared wheel was mechanically unsound and would not work without a “keyway” in the center of the gear to attach it to a power shaft. So, in 1923 the keyway was added and the design which we now know was formally adopted as the official Rotary International emblem.