St. Cloud Rotary Club Recognized For 100 Years Of Service

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- A St. Cloud organization has been recognized for a century of service. At a ceremony Wednesday morning at the Paramount Theatre, St. Cloud Mayor Jake Anderson proclaimed April 27th, 2025, as "St. Cloud Rotary Club 100th Anniversary Day."

St. Cloud Mayor Jake Anderson proclaiming St. Cloud Rotary Club Day, PHOTO by Paul Habstritt, WJON.

Paul Habstritt, WJON

The Rotary Club held its first meeting on April 27th, 1925, in the Breen Hotel which was located next door to the Paramount Theatre. Rotary Club President Ken Bellicot says the club's impact on the community is nearly immeasurable:

"We've given back millions of dollars, we've supported major projects like Pathways for Youth, Pre-School for Success, which really strive to solve problems rather than kind of band-aid things with donations. We actually, as a club, we come up with solutions and implement them."

St. Cloud Rotary Club President Ken Bellicot, PHOTO by Paul Habstritt, WJON.

He says he thinks the founding members would be proud of what the club has accomplished for the St. Cloud community:

"We would hope that they would be proud of the accomplishments that we've done in their honor. It was inventive of them to come together and say, let's do Rotary in St. Cloud and make a lasting impact. I think they would be amazed at where the club has come."

Paul Habstritt, WJON

Bellicot says much like the clubs 100 years their goal is to implement projects that grow, are long-lasting, and truly solve problems. The St. Cloud Rotary Club has been organizing Summertime By George since 2011, and it is one of the club's largest fundraisers every year.

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The club has 122 members and is in the top 1% of Rotary Clubs worldwide in giving and size. There are over 45,000 Rotary Clubs around the world with over 1.4 million members.

Paul Habstritt, WJON

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