Valparaiso Magazine Fall 2021

VALPARAISO ROTARY CLUB
“ROTARY HAS
ALWAYS BEEN A PART
OF MY LIFE...IT TURNS
OUT MY [FATHER AND]
GRANDFATHER [WERE
MEMBERS, SO]
IT JUST SEEMED
LIKE A NATURAL
THING TO DO.”
Membership opened to females
in 1988, a year after a landmark
U.S. Supreme Court ruling
convinced clubs to diversify.
— Byron Smith,
Rotary member
>> saw that the fence was falling apart, they
decided to take it down and build a new
one. “That volunteer experience had such a
personal impact, it helped me decide I would
be a Rotarian for life, she said.
“I have a lot of fun with the sergeant at
arms committee,” said Larry Raber, the
club’s longest-serving member, having
joined in December 1964. The sergeant at
arms levies frivolous fines to get $1 donations
from members for alleged offenses like an
ugly necktie.
Raber said his Rotary connections helped him
land a job at Northern Indiana Bank, where
he ended up managing the commercial loan
department. Raber’s office at the downtown
bank was in the front corner where an ATM
later stood. “The joke is I was replaced by an
ATM machine,” he said.
Jon Costas, a Rotarian before he was mayor,
had a vision for downtown Valparaiso that
has since turned the city’s downtown into
a vibrant area with a plethora of fine
dining restaurants and a central park that is
wildly popular.
“A leader multiplies more leaders,” club
President Debbie Wappel said.
Just as the city has changed, the Rotary Club
itself has changed over the years.
“When I came in, it was the top businessmen
in town,” Smith said, stressing the word
“men.” The club invited its first female
members in 1988, a year after a landmark
U.S. Supreme Court ruling convinced clubs to
diversify their membership rolls. Eight women
joined that year. By 1994, the club had its first
female president. Eight others have served as
president since then.
Members have been generous with both
financial donations and sweat equity in the
century since the club was formed.
Dr. Surjit Patheja is a 43-year Rotary member.
In 1978, he donated $25,000 to the Valparaiso
Rotary Foundation for healthcare scholarships
in honor of his 25 years in the
United States.
“That fund has grown to a value of about
$186,000,” Good said. “With that fund and
other Rotary foundation funds, there were 13
scholarships given last year, ranging between
$500 and $2,000.”
Since 1995, the club has donated almost
$300,000 to a variety of projects, including a
children’s room at the VNA Mary Bartz
photo provided
photo provided
6 VALPARAISO MAGAZINE | FALL 2021