The Rotary Club of Davis will mark its centennial with a community celebration from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4, at the Davis Veterans Memorial Center.
Founded in 1926 under the auspices of Rotary International, the Rotary Club of Davis has spent a century combining service, fellowship and civic involvement. The original Davis club is now one of three Rotary clubs in the city, along with Sunrise Rotary Club of Davis and Sunset Rotary Club of Davis.
Tickets for the centennial dinner are $45 and include dinner by Simply Satisfied Catering. For tickets, contact Donna Prebys at 630-803-7954.
Dave Scheiber will serve as master of ceremonies. The evening’s program will include a presentation on a century of Davis Rotary by Michael Peterson and Jonathan Bayless, a Rotary trivia contest led by Bruce and Marjorie Hartsough, and remarks about the club’s future from Prebys, the club’s 2026-27 president.
The club began with 25 charter members and, by the early 1930s, had grown to nearly 30 members. Rotarians met Mondays at noon at the Terminal Cafe at Second and G streets. Early activities included support for the Boy Scout Cabin, downtown Christmas-tree decorating, contributions to a University Farm student-loan fund, sponsorship of a Picnic Day float trophy, and individual assistance through the club’s charity committee.
As Davis and UC Davis expanded during the 1960s, the club developed a more formal approach to community projects. Its longtime luncheon meetings were held at the Fellowship Hall of Davis Community Church through the early 1990s.
The 1970s brought several important changes. The club launched its Turkey Barbecue that spring as a major fundraiser for local projects. Now known as the Rotary Barbecue, the annual Central Park event continues with Sunrise Rotary as co-sponsor.
Service projects from that era included planting trees and improving landscaping at Davis High School, where Rotarians created Rotary Grove, and landscaping Davis Community Park with 75 trees along a walkway leading to the pool. The club also began international service in Fiji, first helping cover freight costs for educational supplies and later funding four years of high-school tuition for a student there.
By the 1980s, membership grew from about 110 members to 138. The club supported repairs to the Boy Scout Cabin, built a parking lot at International House and a snack bar at the Little League field on F Street, and continued its Fiji educational, medical and housing-support efforts. The club also joined Rotary International’s PolioPlus initiative after it began in 1986. As well, the club spawned the formation of the Rotary Club of Davis Sunrise and Davis Sunset Rotary Club, both of which are vibrant and active clubs today.
Through changing times, the Rotary Club of Davis has remained focused on service projects, community partnerships and fellowship among members. More information is available at rotaryclubofdavis.com.
Rotary Club of Davis to Celebrate 100 Years of Service
