North Shore NewsPast president of the Rotary of Wahiawa-Waialua stopped by our Chamber to discuss collaborating with us on future projects, namely ways we could attract service-oriented individuals to their organization.
Rotary of Wahiawa-Waialua has been serving this area since 1937, and was the third Rotary club in Hawaii, comprised initially of plantation managers
from both the sugar cane and pineapple industries, along with other business-minded individuals. Geoff recounts how local hero Bill Paty was a past president of his club: “Bill was with the 101st Airborne Division, captured by Germany three times, then rescued by the Russians, and was repatriated to the United States. Bill Paty loved the North Shore, was a good
manager of the Waialua Sugar Mill, and was dedicated to his Rotary Club…just a real people-person.”
The word “rotary” came from the founding members in Chicago in 1905, who met once a week and alternated their meeting spots at their offices.
They casually called it “rotating” their meetings and the name “Rotary” was spawned. Rotary is the oldest community service organization in the world. Geoff informed me that Rotary’s first community project in Chicago was the construction of a public restroom in a shopping district to keep shoppers in town.
Geoff says, “we’re [Rotary] in over 200 countries, with over 35,000 clubs. Going to different clubs (in his travels) is like home away from home to me.”
Rotary Club of Waialua-Wahiawa does a lot of joint projects with other groups like the Lions Club in Wahiawa, The ARC in Hawaii, Wahiawa, ALEA
Bridge, and others. To receive an invite to attend a Rotary Club meeting, contact Geoff Horvath at 808- 436-7425 or email him at gjhorvath1@hawaiiantel.net