The Rotary Club of Waynesboro and the Waynesboro Kiwanis Club are both celebrating 100 years of service to the community in 2024.
An exhibit at the Waynesboro Heritage Museum highlights the history and years of service.
“You have these two organizations who are so committed to the community,” Rotary Club President Lora Hamp said.
The Rotary Club has monthly service projects planned to celebrate 100 years in Waynesboro.
“It’s exciting that we get to share the 100 years together,” said Carrie Wagner, Kiwanis President Elect.
Ken Yancey, 72, is the Rotary Club’s longest serving member. He joined when he was 25 years old. His father, Charles T. Yancey, for whom Waynesboro’s municipal building is named and where city council meets, also served on the club and was city manager of Waynesboro from 1958 to 1986.
His grandfather, Charles K. Yancey, was chair of the Waynesboro School Board when Waynesboro High School was built and was also a member of the Rotary Club. He served as the club’s charter secretary.
“He actually filled out the paperwork to start the club,” Yancey said.
Yancey, who lives in Fishersville, said he joined the club and has remained active for so many years for family heritage, business and also to have involvement in the community.
He said a lot has changed since he joined. When he joined, the club was mostly older individuals and they were all men. The first woman joined in 1987.
“Women certainly have stepped up and been integral of the current success of the club,” Yancey said.
What has not changed about Rotary Club, he said, are the tenants of service. The service projects he has been most interested in are the national Rotary Club’s Polio Plus, a program begun in the 1980s to eradicate polio. According to Yancey, billions has been raised with the Gates Foundation.
With the Rotary Club of Waynesboro, Yancey enjoys the construction of a traffic garden in Constitution Park with Waynesboro Parks & Recreation in recognition of the Club’s 100 years.
“I think that’s just going to be a great asset to the youth of Waynesboro,” Yancey said.
He also enjoys focusing on scholarship fundraising opportunities with the club and he looks forward to a future of more vitality among the club and watching men and women work together for common service goals.
“They don’t just have a meet and eat attitude,” Yancey said. Rotary Club members are hands-on about their service to the local community.
Research and information in the exhibit were collected by Francine Johnston of Waynesboro. A member of the Rotary Club for seven years, Johnston collected the material over the course of several years.
The exhibit will be on display at the Waynesboro Heritage Museum, 420 W. Main St. in downtown Waynesboro through December 15, 2024.
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Rebecca Barnabi
