The first meeting as a provisional Rotary club was April 3, 1981, when officers and board of directors were elected.

The club was officially chartered May 7, 1981. It was sponsored by the Marshall Rotary club, H. A. Tony Bridge, Special Representative of District Governor Don Ross, Longview, District 583 (now District 5830). 

 

The President of the Marshall club was Kelly Baird, and Joe McGee and Charlie Smith were co-chairmen of the steering committee. Additional members of the steering committee were Billy Smith, George Rogers, Ed Baker, Truitt Ingram, and Dr. Ben Condray.

 

The Charter Banquet was held Friday, June 26, 1981, at the Ramada Inn of Marshall.

 

Bob Knowles was the charter president. 

 

The charter members were Mac Abney, Don Alford, Monte Bacon, Joe Black III, Wayne Courtney, Al Dillon, Billy Furr, Jack Gray, Jim Hartt, Bill Hinch, James Hortman, Gill Kidd, Bob Knowles, Dr. Bob Koenig, Luis Lopez, Pall Martin, Shields Mitchell, jack Sanders, Max Sandlin, Chuck Spenser, Allen Staggers, James Ware, Wallace Watkins, and Raymond Williams.

 

Formed initially as a convenient makeup the club, it soon became a significant contributor to civic and education affairs in Marshall and to world humanitarian and educational projects and programs. 

 

The club sponsored college scholarships for outstanding Marshall high School graduates, hosted International students and Group Study Exchange teams from around the world. 

 

It aided a group from Michigan, carrying buses, trucks, and books to Belize.

 

It sponsored RYLA students to a youth leadership camp in Carthage, sponsored a Back-Pack program for needy school students, in Marshall, and contributed several thousand dollars to the POLIO Eradication campaign.

 

It received outstanding club awards several years and worked tirelessly for the good of Marshall and District 5830.

 

The club sponsored Past District Governor Carrol Fletcher as District Governor for 1990-1991, who went on to lead the district to new highs in giving to the Rotary Foundation.

 

The turn of the century brought on many challenges for the little club, and its membership began to decline as the economy weakened and jobs were lost in Marshall, and Harrison County.

 

The club continued to support many of its civic, humanitarian, and educational programs even into 2018, when it participated in planting trees at the new elementary schools and junior high, but was unable to find a president for 20018-19, and sadly had to give up its charter and disband in June of 2018.

 

However, with the combined successes and contributions of the Marshall-Metro Rotary club and District Governor Carrol Fletcher, fresh in our memories, it can be proudly said that the Marshall Rotary club, and its members in 1981 who sponsored the Marshall Metro club, will be fondly remembered, when we honor them in “Celebrating a Century of Changing Lives – in Marshall and Beyond”, August 24, 2019, at the Marshall Convention Center in Marshall, Texas.