Rotary was founded by Paul P. Harris in Chicago in 1905. In 1910, the National Association of Rotary Clubs was formed, to be followed two years later by the development of the International Association of Rotary Clubs. The name of this organization was changed to Rotary International in 1922, the year the Fredericton Club was formed.

The Rotary Club of Fredericton was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Saint John and received its charter on June 1, 1922. The founding meeting was held in the private railway car of the late James Woodman, then general superintendent of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The club has grown from the original 23 charter members and over the years, hundreds more have contributed to the various projects and success of the Club.

When the Club was granted its charter, it determined to follow the principles set down by Rotary International. The four-way test was, and still is, the determining factor.

1.      Is it the TRUTH?

2.      Is it FAIR to all concerned?

3.      Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?

4.      Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

Service Above Self – He Profits Most Who Serves Best, is well known to Rotarians as their motto. It was introduced by Arthur Frederick Sheldon of Chicago, and never once have members of the Club looked back from serving their community.

The first activity organized by the Rotary Club of Fredericton was youth oriented and the pattern has not changed in its future efforts. One of the Club’s earliest projects, an annual Boys Sports Day, was eagerly looked forward to by the boys of the city and surrounding area. This ran from 1922 to 1931, when it was absorbed into the expanding recreational program of the City ofFredericton.

Assistance to disabled children has always been an integral part of the Club activities. The first venture in this field was the payment for eye examinations and provision of glasses for children who otherwise would not have had these problems corrected. Later, this scope was broadened to include examinations and treatment for other physical disabilities, and the provision of shoes, supports, braces and similar equipment when required. Payment for transportation costs to the Shriners Hospital in Montreal for cases requiring special operations was another memorable feature of this program. In total, activities of this nature accounted for a high percentage of the attention and resources of the Club for a number of years.

Establishment and operation of the Dr. Sterling MacFarlane Camp for handicapped children atGrand Lake in the summer of 1951 launched the local club on what has proved to be its major project over the past 50 plus years. Funding for the Camp owned by the Rotary Club of Fredericton comes mainly from the Rotary Auctions and Cash Dinners which have become annual events.

Among the other projects of Rotary, the most continuous has been the sponsoring of the annual Adventure in Citizenship conducted by the Ottawa Rotary Club. These “adventures” serve to bring students from all provinces together, in a program designed to emphasize the various aspects of Canadian citizenship. The Club also participates in an international student exchange program.

In promoting the work of Rotary, the Rotary Club of Fredericton has sponsored and organized clubs in Woodstock, Edmundston, Fredericton North, Sunrise Rotary, Oromocto, Gagetown andMinto.

A list of the Club’s past presidents follow:

1921-23           R.L. Phillips

1923-24           Robert VanDine

1924-25           Sterling MacFarlane

1925-26           Wilfred Kierstead

1926-27           Joseph Dolphin

1927-28           Charles Bailey

1928-29           Alban Bate

1929-30           Luke Morrison

1930-31           George Brown

1931-32           George St. Clarke

1932-33           Allison MacKay

1933-34           Donald MacLeod

1934-35           Warren Maxwell

1935-36           Frank Cooper

1936-37           John MacKay

1937-38           Arthur VanWart

1938-39           Hedley Forbes

1939-40           Whitter Fenety

1940-41           Dyson Wallace

1941-42           F.E. MacDiarmid

1941-43           Starr Young

1943-44           Whitman Haines

1944-45           G.H. Prince

1945-46           Stanley Wood

1946-47           Otto Miller

1947-48           Story Hynes

1948-49           A.S. Coster

1949-50           Russel Lambert

1950-51           Geoffrey Pitcher

1951-52           G. Herbert Kitchen

1952-53           Harry Wilson

1953-54           William West

1954-55           Ralph Freeze

1955-56           Lester Smith

1956-57           Chester Campbell

1957-58           Norm Anderson

1958-59           Winston Reid

1959-60                Guy Scovil

1960-61           Percy Thompson

1961-62           Merv Fletcher

1962-63           Herbert Gunter

1963-64           Arthur Limerick

1964-65           Gerald Cherry

1965-66           John Kilburn

1966-67           Howard Hagerman

1967-68           Lyman Greene

1968-69           James Manchip

1969-70           Reid VanDine

1970-71           William Barrett

1971-72           James Hoyt

1972-73           P.O. Beaton

1973-74           Ottis Logue

1974-75           William Matthews

1975-76           John Morrison

1976-77           E.C. Brown

1977-78           L. Dale Steeves

1978-79           Bev F. Macauley

1979-80           Merle Cull

1980-81           Robert Watling

1981-82           John E. Swanton

1982-83           Jean-Paul Levesque

1983-84           J.G. Lockhart

1984-85           Paul V. Embleton

1985-86           G. Neil Sneyd

1986-87           Randy Dickinson

1987-88           Janus (Jim) Hughson

1988-89           Dr. Blake O’Brien

1989-90           Bruce H. Daniel

1990-91           Keith Allen

1991-92           Donald Ganong

1992-93           Douglas E. Morgan

1993-94           G. Brian Trenholm

1994-95           Douglas Gordon

1995-96           Ray Wilson

1996-97           Tom Sifton

1997-98           Al Thomas

1998-99           David Beattie

1999-2000       Arthur Clarke

2000-01           Frank Morrison

2001-02           Richard Harvey

2002-03           Stephen Morrissey

2003-04           Kevin Price

2004-05           Barbara Wishart

2005-06           Ray Dixon

2006-07           John Rowcroft

2007-08           Michael Hines

2008-09           Marion Brien

2009-10           Elva Sullivan