The Rotary Club of Canton South was founded in 1983. The official date of admittance was March 7th, 1983, according to then Rotary International President, Carlos Valente. The Rotary club of Canton was our sponsoring club and we began with twenty five charter members, of which three remain today. The charter dinner party was held May 7th, 1983, at Florian's Crystal Light in Canton, with Daniel Matthews of the Canton Club serving as master of ceremonies. We recently had our 20 year anniversary celebration at McCalls Restaurant with Dan Matthews again serving as Master of Ceremony.

Our club initially met at Country Manor Restaurant at Southgate Shopping Center on Thursday mornings with our first president, Mark Hufstetler, presiding. We have continued our Thursday morning meetings, but have switched from Country Manor to Joanies to the Peace Lutheran Church, to Choices, to Gulliver's restaurant where we now reside.

Our first fundraiser was an auction, held August 20th, 1983, at the Canton South Annex. We made over $2,000 dollars, which we all were very proud. The money went to scholarships that were awarded to graduating seniors at Canton South High School. Currently we have given over $35,000 in scholarship moneys to Canton South graduates.

The Rotary club of Canton South has had a total of 16 Paul Harris Fellows. With our membership fluctuating between 20 and 22, (currently 22 members) we feel good about the number of members who are Paul Harris Fellows).

We look forward to an even more exciting and diverse history as the club grows and moves forward into the 21st Century.

History: Rotary International