Community benefits from years of Wilbur Smith Rotary projects
Wilbur Smith Rotary Club Highlights:
1917 Chartered/sold war bonds. The club president was chairman of the Liberty Bond Campaign for Miller County and member F.W. Offenhauser raised funds for the Arkansas Library War Council
1922 The club, along with with the YMCA, gifted Camp Preston Hunt to the Boy Scouts and underwrote the salary of the first Boy Scout executive
1923 Student Loan Fund established
1936 Helped implement and underwrote costs for the Boy Scout Circus with 1,500 in attendance.
1937-38 Club inaugurated the first clinic for crippled children
1941-42 Sold war bonds; Celebrated club’s 25th birthday
1951-52 Member Wilbur Smith was district governor
1952 Dedication of Temple Memorial
1953-54 Member Roy Hodge converted Temple residence to Temple Memorial Home
1957 Dedicated Crippled Children Pavilion at Lake Wright Patman—built by the Rotary Club members
1962-63 Advanced student loan funds to Texarkana College
1965-66 Member John Stroud sponsored a Little League Baseball team called the “Rotary Wheels”
1967 Established the Oaklawn Rotary Club of Texarkana
1967-68 Member Jim Cady organized first Interact Club at Arkansas High School
1969 Member Leon Pesek started the first Christmas party at Texarkana Special Education Center, which is now known as Opportunities, Inc.
1971-72 Established $5,500 gift to Texarkana College for the Porter Akin student loan
1975 The triangle park at the junction of West 11th, Hazel and State Line Ave. is built and dedicated by Rotarians
1981-82 Co-started with Oaklawn club the Public Safety Officers Banquet
1984-85 Member Bill
Roberts assisted in establishing the Texarkana Community Foundation. Club made a founding contribution of $5,000 and annually contributed $1,000 for five years to the Arkansas Community Foundation for the support of the Texarkana Community Foundation
1988 First woman member, Mary O’Farrell, added to roll
1993-94 Co-started with Oaklawn club the Teachers Appreciation Banquet
1998 Started sponsoring area juniors to attend Rotary Youth Leadership Award camp.
2002-03 Started the American flag project with three other Texarkana Rotary clubs.
2004 Built bathroom at Kidtopia park in downtown Texarkana
2012 Built Rotary Splash Pad with the help of the other rotary clubs, grants, corporate sponsorships and donations. Club donated $50,000 from flag funds. Total raised was $350,000.
2017 Celebrated 100th birthday
(Members of the 100th birthday committee are John Stroud, Brian Goesl, Richard Reynolds, Becky Law, David Orr, Kathey Graves, Larry Oxford, Alice Coleman, Skylar Rogers, Camille Wrinkle and Andi Darby.)