The Australian president of "Rotary International" congratulated the local Rotary Club on their first century.
Only 12 years after the service society was started in Chicago in 1905, Rotary was established in Chillicothe in a major event at the nearby World War I Army training camp, Camp Sherman.
Rotary International president Ian Risely spoke to the local club Friday evening, congratulating them on what they have accomplished, on being pioneers - and that they should look forward to another century.
Presiding over more than 1.2 million members, Risely does not speak often, and usually to bigger gatherings - but he said centennials are important to acknowledge.
And for the next century? Risely said he hopes polio (a Rotary target in foreign countries) will be a distant memory, and that there will be another century of service to the community.
Kevin Coleman regularly reports on Chillicothe & Circleville councils and local culture
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