Cary Central Rotary Club received its Charter from Rotary International’s District 771 on May 31, 1981. Cary Central, the second club to be established in Cary, was founded with 25 Charter Members. John Hatcher, a member of the already-established Cary Rotary Club, represented the District Governor by providing leadership in member recruitment and formation of the club. A morning meeting time was selected because several individuals interested in becoming members worked outside of Cary. The original meeting site for the breakfast club was Rogers Restaurant in downtown Cary, and the meeting time was set for Mondays at 7:00 am.

For most of its history, the club has maintained a diverse roster of 40 to 45 members. Today, the Club has 32 members, six of whom are active Charter Members. Twenty-nine members have been recognized by the Club as the Outstanding Rotarians of the Year.

Cary Central has twice been chosen as the District’s Best Club of the Year. It was the first Cary club to receive this recognition. While maintaining strict adherence to Rotary International’s attendance policies, Cary Central consistently achieves the highest attendance percentage in the District, averaging 90 to 95 percent attendance annually. The club has also participated in the chartering of five new Rotary Clubs in the area.

Cary Central has been active in the Paul Harris Fellow Program with 119 Paul Harris Fellows representing current and past members, family and friends. With the initiation of the Polio Plus Campaign in the late 1980s, 100 percent of the club members participated as Paul Harris Fellows. Two Cary Central members were among the first in the District to become Benefactors of the Rotary Foundation. Since 1990, 21 additional members have chosen to become Foundation Benefactors. Paul Harris Fellows are added annually through the Club’s team program that is renewed each Rotary Year. Two of our members are also members of the Paul Harris Society.

Community service has been a major focus for the Club since it began. While more information can be found in the Service Projects portion of our site, the following is a list of some of our community-centered activities:

• 4-Way Test Education Program
• Boys and Girls Home
• Coins for Alzheimer’s Research Trust (CART)
• Cary Family YMCA
• Cary Gleaning for needy
• Cary High School track improvements
• Christmas in April
• Habitat for Humanity
• Lazy Daze
• Life Experiences
• Meals on Wheels
• Miracle League Baseball Field
• Needy Families Outreach
• Rotary Clock in downtown Cary
• Rotary Shelter at Ritter Park
• Salvation Army Christmas Bell
• Seniors’ Car Show
• Water clean-up projects
• Winterizing Homes

Cary Central has been an active supporter of district activities since it was chartered. Past Presidents Boyce Brown, Steve Denning, and Russell Duncan have served as District Governor. Bragg Cox has served as Assistant Governor. Steve Denning has served as District Communications Officer and District Trainer. Club members have served on numerous District Committees and have assisted each year with District meetings. Members have served on the following District committees for multiple years, serving as committee chair on most:

• Boys and Girls Home
• Community Service
• District Charitable Trust
• District Conference
• District Secretary
• Extension
• Finance
• 4-Way Test
• Friendship Exchange
• Interact
• Membership Development
• Nominating
• Rotaract
• RYLA
• Vocational Service
• Website
• World Community Service
• The Rotary Foundation's General Chair
• Alumni
• Annual Programs Fund
• Group Study Exchange (Sending & Receiving)
• Matching Grants
• Scholar Selection
• Scholar Training

Although Cary Central prides itself on continued commitment and outreach to the Cary community, it also fully supports Rotary’s International Service areas.

Group Study Exchange Team Exchanges and Rotary Scholars — Cary Central has been actively involved in with the GSE Team visits since 1981. Club members have served as host families and district committee members for every incoming team since 1984. Members have been involved in arranging tours, entertainment activities and banquets and have served as home hosts for 22 GSE Teams. Cary Central has also sponsored and hosted numerous Rotary Foundation Scholars attending N.C. State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University.

World Community Service Projects — As a result of the personal interaction with representatives from team and scholar visits, World Community Service projects evolved and subsequently materialized as follows:

• Construction of a micro-hydro electric power generator to provide clean
  drinking water for citizens of a remote village in Nepal.
• Establishment, through Rotary International in the British Isles, of a Rotary Eye Camp for 200-plus impoverished residents of remote villages in India to receive sight-saving cataract surgery.
• Reconstruction of an educational facility, using a matching grant, to provide for children with Downs Syndrome in Ocatalon, Mexico.
• In-kind contribution, through the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation and Duke University Medical Center, for first-generation ultrasound equipment to be provided in teaching gynecology and obstetrics at the University of Porte Allegro, Brazil.

South African Project — In November 1987, Cary Central Rotary Club began a 17-year relationship with the Grahamstown Rotary Club of South Africa via an introduction to Group Study Exchange Team Leaders, Trevor and Denise Long. In May 1998, following the dissolution of state-sponsored apartheid, a consortium of Cary area clubs contributed $2,200 to renovate the McKaiser Old Age Home that provides long-term care to 22 underprivileged residents. Ultimately, $13,200 was raised for the home as the Cary Area Consortium’s and Grahamstown Club’s funds were matched by grants from districts and the Rotary Foundation.

Serving the youth of our communities has been a major focus for the Club since it began. While more information can be found in the Service Projects portion of our site, the following is a list of some of our youth-centered activities:

• 4-Way Test Education Program
• Boys and Girls Home
• Cary Family YMCA
• Cary High School Interact Club
• Cary High School track improvements
• Miracle League Baseball Field
• Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA)

Scholarships — One of the ways to enhance the future is the assist young people in obtaining an education beyond high school. To further this effort, Cary Central has established three scholarship programs: the Robert F. McClain, the Boyce Brown and the Boy and Girls Home.