A Brief History of Cashmere Rotary
The Cashmere Rotary Club was formed in February 1936 with 30 local business men as charter members. The Wenatchee Rotary Club was the sponsor and the charter was presented by the District Governor from Seattle in April 1937. The meeting was in the Methodist recreation hall. Members from the Chelan and Ellensburg Rotary Clubs were also present.
The first officers were:
President – Claude Zediker
Vice President – Charles Cochrane
Secretary – J. Harold Anderson
Treasurer – Mark Balaban and
Sergeant at Arms – Harry Stowell.
It was an all-male club until 1988 when Nancy Schettenhelm became the first Cashmere female Rotarian. There are now 53 members, 15 of whom are women. The club meets weekly in the Presbyterian Church annex.
Cashmere Rotary Club is in District 5060, which is comprised of North Central Washington and South Central British Columbia.
Community Service
With the Rotary motto of “Service Above Self” in mind, Cashmere Rotary Club has served the local community through many projects as well as overseas through Rotary International.
Some of the local projects were:
- Upgrading the museum lobby and structure
- Moving the Stoeffel waterwheel by helicopter from Monitor
- The Senior Center
- Museum Village blacksmith building
- The first Cashmere Native American Powwow
- Lights for the tennis courts
- Yearly bike safety rodeo for kids
Cashmere Rotary sponsors two $2,500 academic scholarships and one $1,500 vocational scholarship yearly.
International Involvement
Some of the international endeavors have been the Polio Plus worldwide project, water wells in Attababa, Ethiopia, computers to a Hungarian school, an ambulance to Magpur, India, two water wells in Kitelawasi, Tanzania, and support of the Rotoplast South American project, which provides correction of facial birth defects in children. Cashmere Rotary Club funds for international projects are matched by Rotary International and usually receive some assistance from the Rotary Club in the project area.
The Cashmere Rotary Club looks forward to continuing opportunities to serve the local and international communities.