Among those in this Nov. 12, 2023, photograph are Rotary Club of Zelienople members Neal Jackson, longtime secretary; Jim Moser, longtime treasurer; and Phil Lope and Craig Lutz, members since the 1970s. Also in the photo are half of the club’s members, who were participating in the fundraiser to benefit Be the Match for Jackson “Jax” Ramirez, who needs a bone-marrow transplant. The pancake breakfast was held at Matthew Hall on the Glade Run Lutheran Services. Matthew Hall has been the group's regular meeting place since COVID-19. Submitted photo

Richard Gigliotti

Rotary has a rich history, starting with a Chicago lawyer named Paul Harris on Feb. 23, 1905. The town of Zelienople formed a Rotary club on Feb. 19, 1924.

From the moment Rotary entered our town, it has been enriching the community we live in.

Our Rotary club offers scholarships for college students and tradesman, foreign exchange student programs and community programs like the Fourth of July parade, annual blood drives and the Shamrock Shuffle in Harmony, all in an effort to support and enrich our community.

One of my favorite events is the semiannual pancake breakfast — a far cry from the original Rotary project in 1907 to bring comfort stations — a euphemism for public bathrooms — to the city of Chicago.

The community project doesn’t matter. Big or small, stinky or sweet, if there is a Rotary club involved, it’s going to get done. Our club is proud to have members that have served for more than 50 years, like David “Skip” Kennedy, who just celebrated his 57th anniversary as a Rotarian.

As the president of the Zelienople Rotary Club, I am proud of our service project this year to erect a 16-foot Christmas tree on Main Street.

Rotary is usually just the beginning of the story when it comes to projects. There are so many other wonderful service groups that support us, and we support them with the greater good of the community as our common goal.

The Zelienople Area Business Association, the borough of Zelienople, as well as local businesses all pitched in alongside Rotary members and a few neighbors to make this project a success.

I am humbled and honored to lead this club into the next 100 years. I have implemented some small changes to help make Rotary more accessible to more people this, year as well.

We now offer a Wednesday evening happy hour meeting at 5:30 on the third Wednesday of every month at ShuBrew, 205 S. Main St. Adding this meeting to our regular 7 a.m. Friday morning meetings has opened the door to many new members, which makes our club better and healthier moving forward.

I look forward to watching the growth of our club in the future.

If anyone who lives or works in our community is interested in sharing their time and talents with Rotary, I encourage you to come to a meeting and see what it’s all about.

Whatever you put into Rotary, you will get back tenfold, I promise you that.

Rich Gigliotti is the 2023-24 president of the Zelienople Rotary Club.