Snow Hill Rotary Club
The Snow Hill Rotary Club was first organized in March 1925. There were 20 chartered members that made up the first club. The club terminated due to the effects of the great depression but the current Snow Hill Rotary Club was readmitted in November 1937. It has been a force for good in Snow Hill and Greene County during all of these years. The women of Calvary Methodist Church initially fed the club each week at the old American Legion Building on Harper Street, causing one member, Mrs. Ethel Durant Lassiter, to remark that the local Methodist Church was built primarily on the stomachs of the Snow Hill Rotarians.
The club has always been composed of leading civic minded businessmen, doctors, attorneys, educators, and farmers, in Snow Hill and the surrounding area. It was once said that no issue proposed by Snow Hill or Greene County officials ever passed, without the Snow Hill Rotary Club’s stamp of approval. Membership has ranged from 20 to 35 members over the years. In the earlier years of Rotary attendance was mandatory, if you missed more than three consecutive meetings you were dropped from membership. Snow Hill Rotary had members with several years of perfect attendance and one member, Dr. Gordon Smith , had more than 20 years of perfect attendance.
The club is the longtime sponsor of Boy Scout Troop 74. According to onetime scout master R. Ben Raeford, who joined Rotary in 1948, the Snow Hill Club obtained a charter for Troop 74 in 1950, and he became scoutmaster at that time. The charter had been surrendered by a previous sponsor. In addition to annual monetary gifts, just last year, the club presented the troop with a new covered trailer which the troop uses to haul supplies to camporees and other scouting events.
When Greene Central High School opened its doors, the Snow Hill Rotary Club raised funds to buy the first scoreboard for the foot ball field. In addition, the club has supported various little league teams in the county, helped to raise funds for the Rotary Cottage at Boys and Girls home in Lake Waccamaw, and has been an annual supporter of Rotary International’s attempt to abolish Polio throughout the world. The club is most proud of it annual scholarship presented to a college bound graduate of Greene Central High School. We are the annual sponsor for the Snow Hill Christmas parade and a Blood Drive in Greene County.
The club raises money to fund these efforts by sponsoring a pancake supper in the fall at Greene Central High School, selling tickets for $1000.00 giveaway, and just this year sponsored what the club hopes will be an annual officially sanctioned road race.
The Snow Hill Rotary Club has presented a number of Paul Harris fellowships to honor its members. This is the highest award the club can bestow upon a member. It is named in honor of Rotary’s founder, Paul Harris. The club has been presenting this award annually for a number of years.
Through the years, Rotary has had many homes: the American Legion Building, various school lunchrooms, Harry’s Cafe, Hillview Grill, Snow Hill IGA, and currently the Snow Hill City Club. Our meals have been consistently good, our fellowship unmatched, and our motivation to continue our charitable endeavors unquenchable. Membership in the Snow Hill Rotary club is not closed. We welcome new members, and invite civic minded men and women to express such an interest to any of our members.
