115 Years of Rotary in the Quad Cities

The first thing this club ever did was throw a Christmas party.

W. H. Harrison, a Davenport insurance man, came home from a visit to Iowa's first Rotary club in Des Moines with an idea. He and William T. Waterman went to Chicago to meet Paul Harris himself, and on November 11, 1911, twenty-eight charter members gathered for the first meeting of the Rotary Club of Davenport.

Within weeks, they had their first service project. That Christmas, the new club hosted a party for more than 100 children in need. It became a tradition that ran for ten years before it grew into what is now the Sunshine Club.

A lot has changed in 115 years. That instinct has not.

We are closing the circle on November 7

Bring a new toy to the celebration. One hundred fifteen years after that first Christmas party, the Rotary Club of Davenport will once again fill a room with gifts for children who need them.

115 years, in a few of its moments

No single page can hold every meeting, every project, and every member who made this club what it is. These are some of the moments that shaped it.

1911
Twenty-eight members, one hotel room
William T. Waterman calls the first meeting to order at the Davenport Hotel. He is elected the club's first president. By Christmas, the club is already serving the children of Davenport.
1912
Charter No. 34
In February, the National Association of Rotary Clubs, now Rotary International, charters Davenport with 58 members. It is the 34th Rotary club in the world, founded just seven years after Paul Harris started the first one in Chicago. That same year, the club establishes a Boy Scout troop.
1913
A contest the whole country copied
The Davenport Beautiful contest encourages neighbors to improve their lawns and gardens. The Ladies' Home Journal publishes the story, and cities and organizations across the country adopt the idea.
1914
Rotary crosses the river
Davenport sponsors the Rotary clubs of Rock Island and Moline. They are the first of ten clubs Davenport would help bring into being.
1922
A war memorial that sends students to college
The club creates the Rotary Memorial College Loan and Scholarship Fund with a $2,500 gift, in memory of the 276 men and women of Scott County who gave their lives in World War I. Grown by a century of member birthday gifts and generous family donations, it has since passed $1 million and has helped hundreds of Davenport students reach college.
1971
Rotarians as probation officers
Working with the Scott County courts, Davenport Rotarians begin serving one on one as volunteer probation officers for young first-time offenders. North Scott and Bettendorf Rotarians join them. Across more than 1,100 cases, about 80 percent of those they mentored never returned to the court system.
1987
Ten women join, ahead of the world
In August 1987, ten women become members of the Rotary Club of Davenport, two years before Rotary International voted to admit women into clubs worldwide. A decade later, Becky Eiting becomes the club's first woman president.
2000
Ending polio, one child at a time
Club president Bill Ashton leads a fourteen-person District 6000 team to a National Immunization Day in Surat, India. In a single day, they help vaccinate more than 10,000 children against polio. Over the following decade, the club partners with 29 Rotary clubs in India on projects that bring water wells, ambulances, cataract surgeries, and school equipment to people who needed them.
2001
A village rebuilt after an earthquake
After a 7.9 magnitude earthquake devastates Gujarat state, Davenport partners with the Rotary Club of Rajkot Midtown to build a village for 300 displaced families, with homes, schools, and a community center. That same year, a Davenport team treks into the western highlands of Guatemala to bring clean water to remote Mayan villages.
2003
A home for veterans
On Veterans Day, Davenport, North Scott, Bettendorf, and Iowa Quad Cities Rotary clubs pledge together toward housing for homeless veterans and their families. Katz House, a home for veterans, is dedicated in 2006.
2006
Two hundred kids and a pumpkin patch
The club's newest members create the Rotary Youth Harvest Party, bringing 200 Davenport children to the Pride of the Wapsi farm. For many, it is their first trip to the country. It becomes an annual tradition shared with neighboring Rotary clubs.
2007
A new club on the other side of the world
Davenport sponsors the Rotary Club of Siem Reap Angkor in Cambodia, the tenth club in its family.
2009
A path to the pond
Eighteen Rotarians, family members, and friends build a 150-foot boardwalk at Nahant Marsh, giving students year-round access to the heart of a 513-acre wetland on the Mississippi.
Today
Local and global, the way Rotary was built
The work continues at home and around the world. When flooding destroyed the equipment of a local girls' softball league, Davenport Rotarians helped put them back on the field. In rural Kenya, clean water wells the club has supported mean fewer children face the waterborne illness that threatens their lives.

Clean water in rural Kenya

New equipment for a local girls' softball league
2026
Year 115, and you are part of it
Every chapter above was written by people who showed up. On November 7, we are asking you to show up one more time: to celebrate, to reconnect, and to begin the next chapter together.
Get your tickets

If your club is on this wheel, this is your anniversary too.

Over 115 years, the Rotary Club of Davenport has sponsored or co-sponsored ten Rotary clubs, from across the river to across the world. Every one of them traces a line back to that first meeting in 1911. Select a club to follow its line.

And if your club is not on the wheel, you are still family. Rotary in the Quad Cities has always been something clubs do together. The probation program, the veterans' home, and the Youth Harvest Party all happened because neighboring clubs showed up for one another. Come celebrate what we have built together, and bring your club's banner so it can hang beside ours.

The evening

A night to look back with gratitude and look ahead with purpose, shared with the Rotarians and friends who make this work possible.

Mississippi Hall, The River CenterOn the Adler Theatre side
136 E 3rd St, Davenport, IA 52801
Saturday, November 7, 2026, 6:00 to 8:30 PM
Open in maps

Food and drink
A buffet of heavy hors d’oeuvres, set up for mingling rather than a sit-down dinner, so you can move around the room and catch up with everyone. Cash bar.
Fellowship
Reconnect with Rotarians from clubs across the Quad Cities and District 6000, and meet the people carrying the work forward.
Live music
A live band to carry the celebration through the evening.
An inspiring speaker
A message about service, community, and what the next chapter can hold.
Your club banner
Bring your club's banner. Every visiting club's banner will hang together for the night, one wall showing the whole family of Rotary in our region.
A toy drive
Bring a new toy. Our first project in 1911 was a Christmas party for children in need, and we are honoring it by giving again.

Reserve your seat

$30

per person

No payment todayRegister below and we will email you an invoice for your tickets. Pay it any time before the event.

Coming with your club?One person can register the whole group. Put your club's name and everyone's names on the form, and we will send one invoice for all of the tickets. And bring your club's banner for the banner wall.

The first thing this club ever did was throw a Christmas party.

We are closing the circle on November 7

115 years, in a few of its moments

Twenty-eight members, one hotel room

Charter No. 34

A contest the whole country copied

Rotary crosses the river

A war memorial that sends students to college

Rotarians as probation officers

Ten women join, ahead of the world

Ending polio, one child at a time

A village rebuilt after an earthquake

A home for veterans

Two hundred kids and a pumpkin patch

A new club on the other side of the world

A path to the pond

Local and global, the way Rotary was built

Year 115, and you are part of it

If your club is on this wheel, this is your anniversary too.

The evening

Food and drink

Fellowship

Live music

An inspiring speaker

Your club banner

A toy drive

Reserve your seat

Pass it on to another club