The Red Bank Rotary Club started in January 1921 with 19 charter members: Mort V. Pach, President; William II. Houston, Vice President; Monroe Eisner, Treasurer; John T. Lawley. Secretary; and Richard Applegate. Harry Campbell, Harry Borrowes, Mareus M. Davidson, George G. Hopping, John A. Kennedy, Arthur MacDonald, Frank, McMahon, Albert S. Miller, John II. Mount, William, O'Brien. Pierre A. Proal, Charles K. Strauss. William A. Sweeney and Philip S. Walton.

Three of us have been members for 35+ years Sam Carotenuto, 1960, Herman Huber, 1954; Dick Johnson, 1964. The longest members are: James "Moose" Parker, 1961; Michael Toscano, 1964; and Morris Westerman, 1945.
The club's five father and son past presidents are: Maurice Schwartz, 1934 and Arnold Schwartz, 1983; John Crowell, 1939 and Whitney Crowell, 1962; Herman Farrow, Sr., 1941 and Hubert Farrow, Jr., 1964; Warren Fowler. Sr., 1957 and Warren Fowler, Jr. 1970; and Peter Genovese. Sr., 1958 and Peter Genovese, Jr., 1975.

No matter how one looks at it, it's a long time. To survive for such a long period, an entity must not only be good, but also productive. It is all the more true because Rotary is a conglomeration of volunteers from many diverse professions and businesses who have one thing in common - to make Red Bank a better place in which to live and raise a family. Rotary has not just survived - it is getting stronger than ever before. What a chapter in the book of life, it has been and still is, written by the Rotary Club of Red Bank.
Every year, a new set of officer's carry forward the Rotary business. Don't think for a moment, that because some of these men switch jobs in a year, that they are deficient in any way. The trustees show their "metal" and stamina by serving for three years and the club secretary's time of service - Ted Terhune - goes on and on ad infinitum.

The day-by-day chores are not automatically performed nor do they remain the same "old thing." Many innovations come from the President and his Board. Regularly, every member of performs various tasks. So there is excitement and pleasure for everyone. Then, before anyone realizes it, 80 years have slipped by with each administration leaving its own mark. New administrations have to be good just to keep up with the preceding ones and that, in turn, is what makes the each administrations so good.

The idea for Rotary resulted from a lonely man in a big city who conceived and nourished an innovative idea. Paul Harris lived in Chicago and thought it would be better and more stimulating if, instead of having a group of people who thought alike, to have "Birds of a different feather flocking together." He gathered men of different professions and callings to exchange ideas from all walks of life. Because they rotated meetings in their homes, they called themselves a Rotary Club.

From that small beginning the idea grew and spread, resulting in the present Rotary International of over 25 thousand clubs with a membership in excess of 1,100.000 people in 484 districts of 172 countries and geographic regions. Rotary's growth is expanding more rapidly today because of organizing clubs in countries emerging from behind the Iron Curtain.

The concept of one man from each calling or profession applies even today. Rotary wants only the best people of each field. No one owns a classification - rather it is loaned to each person when admitted to membership. Every Rotarian is expected to comply with the Laws of Rotary. An important rule is regular meeting attendance - failure to meet this obligation results in loss of membership.

Rotary is unique in its mottoes: "Service Above Self" and "He Profits Most Who Serves The Best." These mottoes epitomize a way of fulfilling a meaningful and happy life style. What is Rotary? Is it a Club, yes, but it is a great deal more than that. It means many things to many people and is as diversified, with as many facets, as there are members.

Is it a Do-Good Club? You bet it is, but not in the sense that we poke our collective noses into everybody's business. On the contrary, others come to us for help. Rotary is a club dedicated to serving the communities in which we live and to make our respective communities better places for all people. This is equally true whether the community is a small town or a big-city. Consider what we do in our own small niche of the universe... Then reflect on the tremendous impact of this multiplier effect on the world.

Each year we are a part of a huge undertaking by Rotary International to bring hundreds of young men and women from foreign countries to the United States for a year of study. These students are "adopted" by local residents, primarily Rotarians. When they return to their own countries, they become the good "ambassadors" of the United States by speaking about the greatness of our people. While here, they tell us how their own misconceptions of this country have changed based on their experiences here. When they return home, they "paint" a different picture of America. There are now 8,500 youngsters participating in the Rotary Foreign Exchange Program. Additionally, Rotary pays for hundreds of our children to visit foreign countries for a year of study.
If that were all that Rotary does, it would justify our existence. But that is only "the tip of the iceberg." Rotary undertook eradication of Polio from the face of the earth. The campaign collected over $215 million to pay for its PolioPlus Program - Red Bank Rotary did its part.

Rotary sponsors Interact Clubs of high school students who take their cue from Rotary members and do what they can in their own way to help the community. There are now approximately 150,000 young people involved in over 90 countries.

In 1986 the Red Bank Rotary Foundation was created to be the distribution arm of the club in its charitable giving efforts. A foundation committee consists of seven appointed members who consider requests from community organizations for worthy causes and make recommendations to the Rotary Board of Directors.
The club published "A Year In The Live Of The Red Bank Rotary" which depicted the great diversity of the work done in one year, 1988. This happens year in and year out. Red Bank Rotary made the largest single contribution to the local YMCA out door pool at Camp Arrowhead; donated an electric scoreboard for the Red Bank High School athletic field and laid out a baseball field, supplied the dugouts for the players and sponsored the Little League Ball Team.

In 1989 Richard Johnson (PP in 81-82) was nominated by the club for Governor of District 751, a position that he then honored in 1992-93. DG Dick Johnson led a strong delegation to the district conference in Nashville.

The Tinton Falls Rotary Club was sponsored by the Red Bank Rotary Club and chartered in 1990. Art Brown was sponsoring president with a support team of Joe Greca, Bill Saloukas and Pete Genovese, Jr. Barry Davall served as representative and then formally was elected the first president of the Tinton Falls Rotary.

The Group Study Exchange (GSE) program of Rotary International has been warmly adopted with teams sent and received to numerous countries. Usually, 6-8 young professionals, visiting for up to a week, are hosted and initiated into the life and culture of the Red Bank area. Teams have been received from: Argentina, Brazil, Netherlands, Japan .............)

We have participated in the Navesink River championship racing regatta, bought a Barbershop Quartet contest and entertainment to Red Bank and entertained, at a luncheon, the officers and soldiers from foreign countries who were stationed at Fort Monmouth. A Christmas luncheon was provided for the families and children of soldiers in Desert Storm.

One special project was tree planting in the borough. This was the first service club to man the kettles for the Salvation Army during the Christmas season. The idea spread all over the county and to the other service clubs in town. We initiated use of trucks, manned by the Red Bank Rotary Club, outside of several supermarkets and collected thousands of food packages and money for the Salvation Army.

There was large effort in raising funds for the erection of the Salvation Army building here. We brought the Soap Box Derby to Red Bank for several years and contributed both labor and money to erect the All Faith Chapel at YMCA Camp Arrowhead. For 29 years the club co-sponsors the American Cancer Society Vince Lombardi Dinner for Monmouth Counties 29 high school athletic awards.
A great deal of funds were raised for the Riverview Medical Center and many other important organizations in the county such as the Monmouth County Mental Health Psychiatric Center, New Jersey Association for the Deaf, Family and Children's Service, The Dooley Foundation, Day Camp Center, Garden State Nu-Voice Club and the Rotary Foundation. Each year we help to support four or five young men and women from the area in the college of their choice.
I must have omitted many projects not chronicled here, but Rotary does not live in the past. It is our continuing purpose to look to the future with the objective in mind of continuing to make Red Bank a better place in which to live.

Rotarily,

Morris Westerman, Club Historian