About Us: Our Story Past to Present

Read about Rotary International’s Core Values

Paradise Valley Rotary Club was chartered in 1972. After 40 years 5 original members still remained. The club’s membership has fluctuated between 25 and 75 members over the years.

In the early years we owned and operated two fire trucks and two chief cars that showed in parades. We were involved with the Board of Directors of the Fiesta Bowl Parade for 10 years and hauled Ronald McDonald in the Parada del Sol yearly parade. One of our members was on the Charter Board of Trustees for Humana Hospital. We teamed up with Humana for a program teaching CPR in the Paradise Valley School District.

Our club has moved to different locations over the years, but the longest lasting location was El Chorro Lodge on 56th St and Lincoln Drive. The owner at the time, Joe Miller, was a great supporter of Rotary and helped us on many projects.

In the past, the annual Changing of the Guard Party was a Lake Powell house boat trip. Many members would bring their own boats and toys to spend the outing on the shores of Lake Powell. The group was very family devoted and tried to put on events everyone wanted to attend.

We’ve supported Neighborhood Ministries and Junior Achievement over the years. One member in particular became very active in helping make their efforts a success. Charity organizations that are focused on educating the youth, feeding the hungry, and preparing kids for the real world fit well with Rotary.

Recently we’ve begun donating dictionaries to 3rd grade students in the Paradise Valley School District. Our current count of hand delivered book exceeds 3,000. This is one of the club’s favorite projects because of the excitement from the students on delivery day.

During the holidays we package food boxes for needy families. We partner with local schools to identify families in need, then assign package delivery to every member.

Currently our largest project is focused on helping high school graduates obtain higher education. Our scholarship program has an application and interview process for students to receive either a four year scholarship or 2 year vocational scholarship.

One of our main fundraising projects is an annual golf tournament. We organize players, sponsors, and volunteers to raise donations for our yearly charity projects we do around the Paradise Valley area.

Past Presidents