Following is an abbreviated history of the Rotary Club of Kingston-Frontenac. For a more detailed history covering the years 1966 to 1996 as prepared for the Club's 40th anniversary by member Clay Elston please click here:
In the middle sixties, Rotarians from District 7040 and the Kingston Rotary Club realized that the time was ripe to expand the outreach of Rotary in the greater Kingston Area. They felt that a new Club, meeting in the evening, would be a logical extension to the activities of Rotary in this area. Strongly supporting this expansion of Rotary to Kingston Township were District Governor Doug Warner, Kingston Rotary Club President Bruce Jackson and Kingston Club member Bill Westlake.
Rotarian Bill Westlake, of the Kingston Rotary Club, was indeed the prime mover in the formation of the Kingston-Frontenac Rotary Club and through his efforts a select group of twenty five, new "Rotarians" were recruited to form the nucleus of the club. In the preliminary organizational meetings, Ray Heston Cook, a Kingston Township dentist was elected President and Ken Smith was elected Vice-President. Royd Sneddon was Secretary, Jack Bailey was Treasurer, and the first Club Directors were Ken Robinson, Jerry Stevens, Roy Ford, Neil Chamberlain and Bernie Breen.
The new Kingston-Frontenac Rotarians held their first "official" meeting on February 23, 1966. On March 23rd, 1966 the first issue of the Club Bulletin made its appearance and the Club had chosen the then "fashionable" Prokops Steak House on Bath Road as their weekly meeting place. The fledgling Club held its official Charter Night on Wednesday, May 4, 1966 in a gala event at the La Salle Hotel (now the La Salle Mews) on Bagot Street.
From the original 25 charter members, the Club prospered and by the late 1970's had about fifty seven active members, Due to business transfers and retirements the Club experienced a drop of membership in the mid-eighties and early nineties with a current membership of 29. In 1995 we finally gave up our all male status when the first of our four women members were inducted into the Club. It was a move long overdue and it has done much to strengthen the club and our ability to serve the true objects of Rotary.
