TRUSSVILLE — Some very important things took place in 1990. The official demolition of the Berlin Wall began. The Leaning Tower of Pisa was closed to visitors for the first time due to fears over the safety and stability of the building. And the Trussville Rotary Daybreak Club was formed. The club celebrated its birthday at its regularly weekly meeting on Wednesday, May 17.

The Trussville Rotary Daybreak Club was chartered on May 18, 1990, in Birmingham, at Medical Center East as the Trussville/East Birmingham (Daybreak) Rotary Club with 23 members. Today, there are 51 members. Van Horne, the only charter member of the club who is still a member, shared a bit about the history of the club.

Special guest speaker today was Mark Maloney from Decatur. Maloney is a past Rotary International president and was the district governor when our club was chartered. Maloney was the fourth RI President from our district and the 109th overall. Others from our district were Frank Spain (in the 1940s) and Roy Hickman (in the 1970s), both from the Rotary Club of Birmingham, and Glenn Estes (2004-05) from the Shades Valley Club. Maloney shared that two other clubs were also born that year: Haleyville and Greater Huntsville. RI was a key player in the creation of the United Nations due to its early coverage about the budding organization in the RI magazine. The U.N. later came to RI for help on simultaneous language translation. Rotary continues to lead the world in the effort to eradicate polio.

A door prize was brought and presented by Maloney: a portfolio bag with the Rotary theme logo from his year as president. Maloney presented the gift to the youngest member of our club in attendance, Stuart Frandsen, who is 35.

Also at today’s meeting, a number of Paul Harris Fellows were recognized and pinned by Maloney. The Paul Harris Fellow recognition acknowledges individuals who contribute, or who have contributions made in their name, the amount of $1,000 to The Rotary Foundation of RI. It was established in 1957 to show appreciation for and encourage substantial contributions to what was then the foundation’s only program. The new Paul Harris fellows in our club are: Bill Bright, Ryan Benson, Paul Hebda, Jay Grogan, Renee’ LeCroy, Mike Rowe, Lisa Bright, Kristi Bradford, David Como, Clarissa Winchester, Chase Wright, Brad Wideman (who is also a Legacy Rotarian — his dad was a founding member of our club), Bonnie Hicks, Adam Black, Adam Seal, Logan Johnson, Jaime Anderson, David Glenn, Derek Rios, and Jim Meads. The Club is now 100 percent Paul Harris Fellows, which means every member of the Club contributes to the Paul Harris Foundation. Paul Harris was the founder of Rotary in February 1905. The Foundation provides grant opportunities for local clubs, so contributions come back to the club for community projects.

The Trussville Rotary Daybreak Club meets at First Baptist Church Trussville on Wednesday at 7 a.m. For more information on the Club, email Diane Poole at dlpoole1225@gmail.com.