A Brief History of Rotary in Wisconsin 

Rotary came to Wisconsin in April, 1912, with the chartering of the Superior Rotary Club. This was the fortieth club to enter the Rotary sphere and was sponsored by the Duluth, Minnesota Rotary Club. Superior was soon followed by the Milwaukee and Madison Rotary Clubs, both of which received their charters in June of 1913.

Work was begun on the organization of the Elmbrook Rotary Club in the Spring of 1983 when several members of the Brookfield Rotary Club recognized the need for a second club in the Brookfield - Elm Grove area. The Elmbrook Rotary Club was chartered on May 17, 1983, as the first breakfast club in District 627 (now 6270) and in Wisconsin! It's for this reason, that we give the gift of a coffee mug with the Elmbrook Rotary Club name on it to each one of our guest speakers.

The Charter officers of the club were:

  • Dennis Lawler President
  • Peter Vanderpool Vice-President
  • Richard Little Secretary
  • Gary Horak Treasurer
  • Michael Bartel Sergeant-at-Arms

The other Charter members were:

  • Robert Barczak
  • Steven Bowers
  • Glenn Carlton
  • John Conover
  • James DeWees
  • Gene Duffy
  • Vernon Forsberg
  • Ted Gibbs
  • William Glennon
  • Theodore Gurzynski
  • Scott Haag
  • Thomas Haas
  • Michael Lauer
  • Richard Murray
  • James Rose
  • Gary Ryan
  • Daniel Schmidt
  • Robert Simons
  • Charles Steinbach
  • Richard Trinitopoli
  • Donald Wilson

(Bold indicates current active member)

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