About Our Club

Our Club Activities

The core activity of the club is the weekly Monday luncheon meetings at Rickey's Hyatt House on El Camino in Palo Alto. Meetings start at 12:15 p.m. and end promptly at 1:30 p.m. During this time members have an opportunity to interact, transact necessary club business and listen to an interesting speaker or discussion on diverse subjects. Regular attendance enables club members to get to know each other better and to discover different interests. The meeting atmosphere is enhanced by visitors from other clubs, often from other countries.

The members also engage in other varied activities. Some of these are purely social, while others are concerned with fund raising, active participation in community events or hands-on service projects. Many members work on the different committees designed to serve our community. The club is run by an elected President and Board of Directors to which the various committees report.

Club membership is by invitation and is based on a vocational/professional classification.

A Brief History

As the first Rotary Club on the Peninsula and the first service club in town, the Rotary Club of Palo Alto was officially launched on April 18, 1922. The initial meetings were held in the oak-shadowed Palo Alto Hotel at the corner of Lytton and Alma. On June 28, 1922, Dr. Tully Knoles, president of College of the Pacific, presented the initial charter from the sponsoring San Jose Rotary Club. Sixteen members signed that first charter.

We are now one of the 60 clubs that make up Rotary District 5170 that stretches from Oakland south to Hollister and west to Santa Cruz. This district has always been a leader in providing charitable contributions to the Rotary Foundation. We are proud of the fact that in our 75 years of existence we have, in turn, sponsored four other flourishing Rotary clubs. We also work closely with students at Gunn High School in an active service club (Interact) we have sponsored.

Today the club has a membership of around 140 active men and women. Among our members we have always had many outstanding citizens, public officials and notable civic leaders. Over the years, we have lent our strength to many local institutions - hospitals, medical foundations, health councils, health clinics, youth clubs and organizations, senior citizen support groups, rehabilitation services and relief organizations. In addition, the club has been actively involved in a number of significant international projects.

Members have found Rotary an enjoyable experience because of the spirit of camaraderie, the friendships made, the people they meet and the service that they are able to perform for the community. Being actively involved in humanitarian, education and cultural exchanges that touch people in other parts of the world inspires and enriches us all.