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40th Anniversary Celebration
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In June, 1969,
the Rotary Club of West Pine Bluff was formed when
24 members of the Rotary Club of Pine Bluff chose to
become charter members after the Rotary Club of Pine
Bluff ceded a portion of their territory so that the
new club could be formed. The club's first
president was Charles Bonner, who had joined the
Pine Bluff Club some ten years earlier. |
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On July 25,
2009, current President, and yes, the Club's first
president, Charles Bonner (pictured above) opened
the 40th Anniversary Meeting where 84 people, 37
current members, many past members,
19 Past Presidents, 20
Paul Harris Fellows, District Governor Jim Davis,
and Charter Members Morrell Gathright,
who brought his wife Alice, daughter Lori and
granddaughter Jan, Harry Fite, who brought his wife
Eloise, and Club President Charles Bonner, who
brought his wife Genevieve and daughter Jana, in
attendance. The club received special recognition
from the District Governor for the outstanding
growth in membership for the year (28 new members),
and a Presidential Citation. For more
information and more pictures, visit the
40th
Anniversary Celbration webpage. Also, be
sure to view our
"First Forty Years" webpage. |
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 Our Rotary Club
funded the large entrance sign to Regional Park. You can
see the Rotary emblem on the bottom right just under the large upper sign.(The
"Welcome to Lake Saracen" sign was added in 2007 when Saracen
Landing was built, and was not part of our Club's gift.)
The park was named
in honor of former Pine Bluff Mayor Austin T. Franks, who served
as Mayor from 1965 to 1975.
When it opened, the 750 acre park
offered good access to Lake Langhofer, which offers access to
the Arkansas River. Many Bass Tournaments are held in
Regional Park each year, including one of the official weigh-in
stations for the Annual
Arkansas Big Bass Bonanza.
Today Regional Park includes the
Harbor Oaks Golf Course, Saracen Trace RV Park, Delta River's
Nature Center, Softball Complex, Pavilion for concerts and other
outdoor activities, numerous picnic areas, playground for young
kids, boat ramp and official weigh-in for fishing tournaments, and
one of the entrances to the new Saracen Landing and Saracen Lake.
Saracen Landing opened in 2007, just west of the entrance to
Regional Park, and across the street from the County Courthouse.
For more information, visit the
Saracen Landing website. |
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Our club is
currently participating in our Rotary District Project.
This would provide the following:
At the SOS Children's Village in
Kensington - Drill a well and install a hand pump to enable
approximately 20 older orphans who have left school and who
already have vocational skills to start a sustainable market
garden project and to provide safe drinking water.
At Simanyane Centre for Mentally
Disabled Adults in Newton West – Equip the existing well and
provide piping to extend the vegetable garden so residents
can become self-sufficient and generate income.
At St. Bernard's School in
Pumula - Construction an underground water tank to collect
and store rain water harvested from the school roof, provide
a pump to distribute the water and provide safe drinking
water for the 975 students and teachers, as well as for the
school's vegetable gardens.
At the Tohwe School in the
Matobo District - Equip the existing well and install a
piping distribution system to supply the school (330
students), clinic and the vegetable garden with clean water.
Total project cost is $19,000.
If the project is approved, Rotary International will
provide $9,500; our District $7,400; District 9210 in
Zimbabwe $2,000; and the Bulawayo-South Rotary Club $100.
Our club has contributed $500 to the District earmarked for
this project.
Over the years our club has
participated in many World
Community Service Projects
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In 2005 Rotary
celebrated its 100th year. In recognition of
this event, the Rotary Club of West Pine Bluff and
the Rotary Club of Pine Bluff joined forces to place
benches on the grounds of the new
Donald Reynolds
Community Services Center. The pictures to the
right show a couple of the benches, and a plaque
placed one of the garden areas. |
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District
Governor Jim Davis presents a check for
half of the $1,742 that Rotary District
6170 is giving to the Boys & Girls Club
of Jefferson County for the Smart Tutor
educational computer programs.
Pictured from left to right are:
(front row) Rotary Club President
Charles Bonner, Rotary District Governor
Jim Davis, Rotarian Scott Robinson who
President of the Board of the Boys/Girls
Club, Calvin Matlock who is a board
member of the Boys/Girls Club, (back
row) Rotarian Lloyd Franklin who is a
board member of the Boys/Girls Club,
Leslie Peters who is the Chief
Professional Officer for the Boys and
Girls Club, Rotary Club Secretary Gary
Kelly, and Win Trafford II who is a
board member of the Boys/Girls Club.
(Picture &
Check presentation made on November 11,
2008. Photo courtesy of Rotarian
Joe Dempsey) |
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Yearly Local Projects
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Great Arkansas Clean-up
Every year club members help with
the Great Arkansas Clean-up by picking up trash on Cherry Street
from Pine Bluff National Bank's headquarters to Martha Mitchell
Expressway. |
Ring the Bell for Salvation Army
Each year club members take turn
to ring the bell for the Salvation Army in front of Wal-Mart.
Over the years we have raised thousands of dollars through the
generosity of the citizens of Jefferson County for the Salvation
Army. |
Santa at JRMC
At Christmas our club makes sure
that Santa Clause visits all the kids who have to spend
Christmas in the hospital at JRMC. We provide gifts and smiles
at a time when the kids need it the most.
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Relay for Life
Every year since
2001 our club has participated in the annual Relay for Life.
In these past eight years, we have raised around $12,000. |
Scholarships and Student Guests
Every
year our club contributes money to help fund
scholarships for one or two students attending one
of the local colleges.
We also
invite 2 student guests from each of the local High
Schools and the two colleges to attend our club
meetings for a month.
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- O. C. Hauber Rotary
Foundation Inc.
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