The Jim Thorpe Rotary Club celebrated its 100th anniversary last week with a dinner at Café Arielle on West Broadway.
Local attorney Anthony Roberti was honored with a plaque for his decades-long membership in the club, which was founded on May 15, 1924.
“I’ve been a member of Jim Thorpe Rotary for almost 50 years,” Roberti said. “I was young and just starting out in my career. I thought it would be useful to get to know people, and that’s why I joined.”
The club currently has 29 members and usually meets for lunch on Tuesdays.
According to Roberti, the Jim Thorpe Rotary Club has overseen the construction of a gazebo in downtown’s Josiah White Park, operated the Rotary summer program for area children for 28 years, conducted “ghost walks” to raise funds, sponsored international study and school exchange programs, and supported students through college scholarships.
The group also supports local, national and international causes, including contributing to polio eradication.
“One of Rotary International’s many goals was to eradicate polio,” said Roberti. “That goal has almost been achieved. Polio still exists in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan, but nowhere else in the world.”
The club regularly provides financial support to 25 local charities and organizations. Recently, the club played a major role in the opening of a Jim Thorpe Preschool and Child Care Center at St. Joseph’s Regional Academy of the Lehigh Valley Children’s Center.
“Rotary members were the catalyst,” said member Jeanne Miller of the child care project. “We analyzed the needs, prioritized the need for preschool, and the result was a success that helps working families. Many people wanted to work but couldn’t find a good, safe, affordable place for child care. This was a big deal for our community.”
Miller joined the Jim Thorpe Rotary in 1999. In an interview last year, she said the development of club initiatives and services has had a significant impact on the community.
One of Rotary’s core pillars used to be to donate dictionaries to schools, but now that students can look up definitions with a simple Google search, that need has disappeared.
“Instead of dictionaries, we started giving grants to teachers so they can use the money for the materials they need, whether it’s supporting a STEM education or whatever,” Miller said.
April Brugan, president of the Rotary Club of Jim Thorpe, moderated last week’s event, which was also attended by state Rep. Doyle Heffley, Carbon County Commissioner Michael Sofranko and Carol Etheridge, a representative for Congresswoman Susan Wild.
For more information about joining the Rotary Club, visit www.jimthorperotary.org.
Anthony Roberti, a Jim Thorpe attorney and member of the Jim Thorpe Rotary Club for nearly 50 years, reflects on his experiences at the club’s 100th anniversary dinner on June 20. WILLIAM SCHWARTZ/SPECIAL FOR THE TIMES NEWS
Members of the Jim Thorpe Rotary Club include (back row from left): Kim Roberti, Heather Mullen, Peggy Kalogerakis and Dr. Clem McGinley. Third row from left: Robert Furman, Tony Roberti, Bill Allison and Mary Mulligan. Second row from left: Dr. Barbara Conway, Dr. Jake Boyer, Robert Stevenson, Sharon Alexander, Rick Tweed and Sophie McGinley. Front row from left: Jean Engler, Carol Etheridge, Jeanne Miller, April Brugan and Carol Allison. WILLIAM SCHWARTZ/SPECIAL TO THE TIMES NEWS
