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About Our Club
Anchorage South Rotary (ASR) had it first organizational meeting on May 21, 1979 at Asia Gardens Restaurant. Ed Muhlhauser and Ken Stephenson, then-members of the Spenard Club (now known as the International Club), arranged for friends and acquaintances to get together to form a new Rotary Club. After securing a written commitment from 35 individuals, a list of charter members was forwarded to Rotary International. ASR was chartered in August, 1979, but its official beginning was at the charter dinner on October 10, 1979 at the Rabbit Creek Inn. For a short time, membership dropped to below 30 members, but has been growing ever since.
ASR has previously met at Asia Gardens, the Warehouse, the International Banquet House, the Northern Lights Inn, O'Malley's on the Green, Sea Galley, Pepper Mill and, currently, at Aladdin's Restaurant.
The club was originally part of District 503, then later 501 when Alaska broke off from Seattle. It was later renamed District 5010.
There are currently around 100 members, including two original charter members, including past-District Governor Bob Brodie. Over half of our members are Paul Harris Fellows, including 30 members with multiple Paul Harris Fellows, and 10 Rotary Foundation Benefactors.
ASR holds the esteemed moniker as District 5010's "fun club," due in large part to the piano-playing skills and humor of Jeff "KEYS" Duzenbery. Member Bill Phelan, after visiting another club that used the idiom Happy Bucks, introduced them to Anchorage South.
ASR holds fun and exciting annual events as well, some that raise funds for our charitable giving and scholarships and others that are held simply as a social gathering. Popular events include The Parcel Post Party (raises funds for Paul Harris Fellowships and Rotary Foundation), Day at the Farm (a perennial family favorite held at Glenn & Claudia Roberts' llama farm in Palmer), a Golf Tournament, a turkey drop benefiting Bean's Café every Thanksgiving, Toys for Tots gathered at our annual Christmas party, handing out corsages to residents of Providence Extended Care, stuffing and wrapping Christmas boxes for orphans world-wide, among others.
Our annual fund raisers include selling bedding plants in the spring and putting on the Family Fun 2K, 5K, 10K Salmon Run. Funds raised go toward college scholarships for Dimond, Service and South Anchorage High School students, as well as toward charitable gifts to non-profit organizations such as Bean's Café, AWAIC, Boys & Girls Clubs, Salvation Army, and many others.
On an international level, we contributed to the Thai Water Project, providing survival boxes for tsunami and other natural disaster victims, and Rotary International's Polio eradication project, PolioPlus.
We have also created the Anchorage South Rotary Memorial Fund in which two events each year help raise scholarship funds for area adult-aged students.
In addition to our annual sponsorship and hosting of one in-bound and one out-bound exchange student, notable ASR projects and donations over the years include the purchase of two police dogs for local law enforcement, building the Hilltop Ski Chalet fireplace, creating Cope Course for Boys Scouts and the rifle/archery range at Camp Gorsuch, planting trees at the Anchorage Zoo, and building batting cages and donating equipment at the Simonian Little League Ball Fields.
Members of Anchorage South Rotary are very involved in the club, their community, the Rotary District 5010 and on an International-level. Year after year, we receive awards for attendance, community service projects, and our newsletter, the SCOOP.
ASR has previously met at Asia Gardens, the Warehouse, the International Banquet House, the Northern Lights Inn, O'Malley's on the Green, Sea Galley, Pepper Mill and, currently, at Aladdin's Restaurant.
The club was originally part of District 503, then later 501 when Alaska broke off from Seattle. It was later renamed District 5010.
There are currently around 100 members, including two original charter members, including past-District Governor Bob Brodie. Over half of our members are Paul Harris Fellows, including 30 members with multiple Paul Harris Fellows, and 10 Rotary Foundation Benefactors.
ASR holds the esteemed moniker as District 5010's "fun club," due in large part to the piano-playing skills and humor of Jeff "KEYS" Duzenbery. Member Bill Phelan, after visiting another club that used the idiom Happy Bucks, introduced them to Anchorage South.
ASR holds fun and exciting annual events as well, some that raise funds for our charitable giving and scholarships and others that are held simply as a social gathering. Popular events include The Parcel Post Party (raises funds for Paul Harris Fellowships and Rotary Foundation), Day at the Farm (a perennial family favorite held at Glenn & Claudia Roberts' llama farm in Palmer), a Golf Tournament, a turkey drop benefiting Bean's Café every Thanksgiving, Toys for Tots gathered at our annual Christmas party, handing out corsages to residents of Providence Extended Care, stuffing and wrapping Christmas boxes for orphans world-wide, among others.
Our annual fund raisers include selling bedding plants in the spring and putting on the Family Fun 2K, 5K, 10K Salmon Run. Funds raised go toward college scholarships for Dimond, Service and South Anchorage High School students, as well as toward charitable gifts to non-profit organizations such as Bean's Café, AWAIC, Boys & Girls Clubs, Salvation Army, and many others.
On an international level, we contributed to the Thai Water Project, providing survival boxes for tsunami and other natural disaster victims, and Rotary International's Polio eradication project, PolioPlus.
We have also created the Anchorage South Rotary Memorial Fund in which two events each year help raise scholarship funds for area adult-aged students.
In addition to our annual sponsorship and hosting of one in-bound and one out-bound exchange student, notable ASR projects and donations over the years include the purchase of two police dogs for local law enforcement, building the Hilltop Ski Chalet fireplace, creating Cope Course for Boys Scouts and the rifle/archery range at Camp Gorsuch, planting trees at the Anchorage Zoo, and building batting cages and donating equipment at the Simonian Little League Ball Fields.
Members of Anchorage South Rotary are very involved in the club, their community, the Rotary District 5010 and on an International-level. Year after year, we receive awards for attendance, community service projects, and our newsletter, the SCOOP.