Wilbur Smith Rotary Club marks 100 years of service

Established in 1917 as the Downtown Rotary Club and later renamed the Wilbur Smith Rotary Club, this civic club has had a lasting and meaningful presence in Texarkana.

Since that year, the club has promoted the ideal of service through its many community projects. Rotary seeks to encourage this service in several ways, including developing acquaintance as a means for service, setting high ethical standards, applying service in several areas of a Rotarian’s life and the promotion of international goodwill and peace.

At each Rotary meeting, Rotarians recite what’s called the Four-Way Test as a way to guide their relationships, asking: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

Right off the bat in 1917, the club president served as chairman of the Miller County Liberty Bond Campaign, selling war bonds, while member F.W. Offenhauser raised money for the Arkansas Library War Council. A clinic was started for children with disabilities in the 1930s. War bonds were sold again in 1941 and ‘42.

Rotary club member Wilbur Smith, a life-long champion of all things Rotarian, served as district governor in 1951 and ‘52, that latter year being the year Temple Memorial was dedicated. The Rotary Club has been involved in education, too, as seen in the student loan funds advanced to Texarkana College during the 1960s and at later dates.

A Little League baseball team was sponsored during the mid1960s. In 1967, the club organized and sponsored the Oaklawn

Rotary Club of Texarkana. Then, in the mid-1980s, member Bill Roberts helped start the Texarkana Community Foundation with a founding contribution and subsequent annual contributions.

More recent endeavors have included the American flag project and Kidtopia Park bathrooms. These are just a few highlights from a century of service.

“Obviously, the most recent thing that people associate with is the Rotary Splash Pad,” said Andi Darby, co-chairman of the Wilbur Smith Rotary Club’s Wilbur 100 Committee. But that’s not all they’ve done through the years, whether it’s work with the Boy Scouts or other organizations.

Rotary’s motto? Service above self. Clubs all over the world work together on service projects that do everything from fighting disease to supporting education and providing clean water.

The Wilbur Smith Smith Rotary Club has put service above self for 100 years now, with no end in sight.