The Rotary Club of Vicksburg is preparing to celebrate its 100th anniversary with a Centennial Gala on Tuesday, Jan. 16, at the Vicksburg Convention Center.

A number of special guests plan to attend, including Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant and Mississippi Secretary of State, Delbert Hosemann, Vicksburg’s own, along with officials from other Rotary Clubs around the state and beyond.

Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs Jr. will attend and congratulate the Rotary Club of Vicksburg on its 100 years.

I was honored to receive an invitation to join the Rotary Club shortly after moving to Vicksburg, and it’s been a great experience. I was a member of Rotary when I lived in Michigan, so I was familiar with the organization and its mission. However, I did not realize how much fun being a Rotary Club of Vicksburg member would be. These gentlemen and ladies are a hoot!

Mostly, I’ve learned so much about Vicksburg and its people through stories about Rotarians here, past and present. Ours is a club that has made an impact on Vicksburg during all of its 100 years by providing leadership and support to community projects, financial and otherwise.

Today’s Vicksburg Rotarians have big shoes to fill because of the caliber of Rotary members who set the pace for the club.

One can’t be a Rotary Club of Vicksburg member without learning about people like the late Edley Jones. Jones passed away in 2015. He was a Rotary member for 65 years and served for 60 years as secretary of the Rotary Club of Vicksburg. That’s right: 60 years!

I’ve been told Rotary members eagerly waited each week the arrival of Jones’ Rotary newsletter because it was so filled with good-hearted humor.

In July 2015, Jones was inducted into the Rotary Heritage and History Hall of Fame. He lost his battle with cancer less than a month later.

While Jones’ Rotary service was extraordinary, it wasn’t unique. The Rotary Club of Vicksburg is blessed with a legacy of members who were devoted to Rotary service.

Another such member was Landman “Landy” Teller, who our community lost in April 2016. Rotary was front and center among the many things Teller did to serve the Vicksburg community.

The Rotary Club of Vicksburg lost its longest-standing member on Dec. 30, 2017, when Jack Stamm passed away. He was an active Rotarian for more than 60 years.

The number of long-time Rotarians reads like a who’s who list in Vicksburg: Rotarian Stan Kline was admitted as a Rotarian in 1964; Leo Boolos Jr. joined in 1957; Richard Cowart in 1970; Rusty Hawkins in 1974; James Burnett in 1976; Pete Stone in 1982; Wayne Thornton in 1988. There are many others on this list who have been Rotarians for 30, 40 years or longer.

Attorney Mack Varner, who entertains Rotarians each week with a bit of Rotary history or trivia, seems like a newcomer among that group, being admitted to Rotary membership in 1992.

The highest honor Rotarians can achieve is being named a Paul Harris Fellow. A full 85 percent of the membership of the Rotary Club of Vicksburg has achieved that status, the second strongest in the state of Mississippi.

Leadership in the Rotary Club of Vicksburg is strong and has undertaken a number of projects, which will pay dividends to this community in the future, like the sponsorship of an Interact Club at St. Aloysius High School and the Academy of Innovation. Interact is a Rotary-led group whose mission is to develop leadership skills in young people ages 12-18 while allowing them to discover the power of Service Above Self, the Rotary motto.

The gala Jan. 16 will celebrate a rich and rewarding first 100 years for Rotary Club of Vicksburg. It will also shine a light on the bright future of our club and community, as we begin our next quarter century.

Jan Griffey is general manager of The Vicksburg Post. You may reach her at jan.griffey@vicksburgpost.com.