As Rotarians, it is fabulous to be part of a truly global organisation.
I am often amazed at the extent of Rotary membership and recently I was reading about the history of Rotary in the Caribbean, a most beautiful part of the world.
Rotary was present in Cuba from 1916 to 1979 when it was suspended. Cuba was the host Country for the 1940 Rotary International Convention and by 1957 Cuba had 58 Rotary Clubs with 1,800 members.
Between 1915 and 1930, during the American administration of Haiti, some Rotarian marines used to meet every week. In 1930, a Rotary-club was proposed for Port-au-Prince, however it was never chartered.
The records of Rotary International indicate that Rotary within the smaller islands of the Caribbean began with what was called "non-district clubs". The first non-district club to receive a charter was The Rotary Club of St Thomas in 1957, followed by The Rotary Club of St Croix in 1958, and by The Rotary Club of Kingston in 1959.
Rotary International continued to charter non-district clubs until 1973, by which time there were some 41 clubs with charters, however they were not supported by a district structure.
In June of 1973, the first Caribbean Convention of non-district Clubs was held in St Kitts. One of the outcomes of this Convention was a petition to Rotary International for the establishment of a district for the clubs of the Caribbean.
Rotary International established District 404 (now District 4040) on July 1, 1974. All the French, Dutch, and English-speaking islands in the Caribbean were included. Dr. John Watts of Grenada became the first District Governor of District 404. The first District Conference was held in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, on September 25-28, 1974 with some 314 Rotarians and participants attending. Forty-three of forty-four clubs were represented.
Today there are two large district structures across the Caribbean and Rotary does great work, including relief efforts required as a result of the very recent volcanic eruption on St Vincent.
The District Structure supporting Rotary Clubs is an important part of our operations. In this context I encourage all Mt Eliza members who have not already done so to register for our District 9820 Mini Conference on Saturday 1 May (please see story in this Bulletin). Remember we are the Host Club.
