Joliet Rotary celebrates 110 years of service

The Rotary Club of Joliet named Ed Dollinger of Joliet its student of the month many years ago when Dollinger attended the former Joliet Catholic High School (now Joliet Catholic Academy).

“So I was exposed to Rotary and all the good work they do in our community, and throughout the area and worldwide, too,” Dollinger said.

So when Dollinger joined the nonprofit service organization 36 years ago, he thought “it would be a great organization to get involved with early on in my career,” he said.

“At first, I did it more for networking and getting to know people. But it grew on me,” Dollinger said, adding that he’s even mentored new Rotarians. “And instead of just belonging to Rotary, I became a true Rotarian. You sort of live and breathe it and you give back…you’re not just a member of an organization. You’re involved and you’re engaged.”

Everyone is in it for the right reason and that is to provide service to our community.”

—  Jen Howard, Rotarian, co-chair of the anniversary celebration and president of the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce

How Rotary Club of Joliet will celebrate its milestone anniversary

Rotary Club of Joliet will celebrate its 110th anniversary on Aug. 1 with a special luncheon in the Jacob Henry Mansion Victorian Ballroom. Stephanie Urchick, Rotary International president elect, will be the keynote speaker.

“And we’ll have a champagne toast, courtesy of Sue [Pritz Bornhofen, owner] at the Jacob Henry Mansion,” said Jen Howard, Rotarian, co-chair of the anniversary celebration and president of the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce.

Rotarians Ed Dollinger and Gloria Dollinger will serve as emcees, Howard said.

Members from the Chicago Rotary will also be part of the expected 160 attendees as will members of the club’s past Women of Rotary members, the wives of Rotarians who gathered before Rotary allowed women to join in the 1980s, Howard said.

The club will also honor longtime Rotarian Bill Lauer of Joliet with its Lifetime Achievement award. According to the Rotary Club of Joliet, Bill Lauer’s father, Tom Lauer, became a member of the Joliet Rotary Club in 1930. Tom Lauer then brought Bill Lauer into the club 60 years ago.

Bill Lauer had more than 22 years of perfect attendance, served as club attendance chair and club membership chair, co-chaired the club’s 70th and 75th anniversary dinners and served as district chair of the Group Study Exchange Program as well as on the district’s nominating committee.

He created and chaired the club’s Avoidable Blindness Clinic event. He also served in all areas of club leaders and as club president from 1991 -1992.

Bill Lauer received the Frank Turk Spirit of Rotary Award and he was a Paul Harris Fellow seven times. According to Rotary, the Paul Harris Fellow recognition “acknowledges individuals who contribute, or who have contributions made in their name, of $1,000 to The Rotary Foundation.”

What makes Rotary Club of Joliet successful?

Diane Cepela, president, feels the best way to honor the club’s successful past is to engage in strategic planning to keep that momentum moving forward and to determine which projects are now self-sustainable.

For this year, Rotary is focusing on mental health, building peace in the world, and empowering girls and young women, Cepela said. She credits Rotary Club of Joliet’s longstanding success to good people engaged in good activities.

“The projects are really driven toward helping individuals,” Cepela said, “and helping Joliet in different ways.”

Rotary International has more than 46,000 clubs and 1.4 million individual members worldwide, said Howard, who joined the club 19 years ago. Rotary of Joliet, which is club No 78, has approximately 120 members.

And what’s truly amazing about Rotary is that “everyone is in it for the right reason and that is to provide service to our community,” Howard said.

“When you walk into a Rotary meeting in Joliet, you’re astounded by the individuals that are leaders in Joliet and everyone has the same passion about Rotary,” she said. “You just feel a connection throughout the room between all the Rotarians. It’s something special, really.”

For more information, visit jolietrotary.com.

History and milestones

The Rotary Club of Joliet

• Started in 1913, the first Rotary club in a city with less than 75,000 people

• Is No. 78 in the world

• Has 120 members (one of the largest in the Chicago area)

• Submitted a resolution by Joliet Rotarian Bob Leckrone in the 1980s to extend membership to women

• Started the Joliet Township High School Band

• Founded the Joliet Chamber of Commerce

• Sponsored first Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts troops in the area

• Helped save a city by printing script at the height of the Depression

• Was responsible for starting over 30 additional Rotary clubs

• Raised more than $250,000 to build the Rotary Sports Complex at the Galowich YMCA

• Raised more than $30,000 to build the first two homes for Will County Habitat for Humanity

• Established the Rotary College Scholarship Program for Lewis University in Romeoville, the University of St. Francis in Joliet, and Joliet Junior College

• Granted and distributed more than $1.5 million to local organizations since the 1980s

Rotary Club of Joliet’s impact in 2022 to 2023 included:

• 35 Rotarians volunteering at Channahon’s Three Rivers Festival on Special Needs Day

• Donating $7,000 to six organizations in Joliet from their welfare fund

• Funding school supplies for teachers at Taft Elementary School

• 11 Rotarians ring bells at Christmas for the Salvation Army

• A holiday luncheon fundraiser to benefit Megan Bugg Foundation

• 24 Rotarians volunteering for a Safety Around Water Program at the YMCA

• Supporting and volunteering to coordinate the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce’s Top Student Banquet

• Volunteering and helping to raise $8,000 for Easterseals Joliet Region’s telethon

• Supporting Joliet’s Spanish Community Center on its Children’s Day

• 23 Rotarians funding and volunteering at the garden of the National Hookup of Black Women Joliet chapter

• Installing smoke alarms with the American Red Cross and Joliet Fire Department

• Supporting the Malawi, Africa, Education Initiative Project by supporting basic education and literacy

• Awarding its annual raffle proceeds of $25,000 to Warren-Sharpe Community Center in Joliet