History of the Rotary Club of Ladner

The idea of the Rotary Club of Ladner actually began two years before the charter night. The president elect Bruce Ledingham of the Rotary Club of Marpole (now Rotary Club of Vancouver South) met with local businessman Dick Ferguson that led to the formation of the club. The first meeting of the provisional club was in November 1957. The club received its charter from Rotary International on December 27, 1957.

1958 – The Rotary Club of Ladner Charter Night was held on February 4, 1958. The first president was Dick Ferguson whose classification was Farm Machinery. The charter night celebration was held at the Astor Hotel in Vancouver. The charter was presented by District Governor Art Simpson of District 504.

1959 - Rotary Anns were established - a group of the spouses of the members of the Rotary Club. It was a social club to help promote fellowship and to assist Rotarians wherever possible. At that time Rotary was a male only organization and it was a great way to get the women involved.

1962 - Ladner Rotary Club Scholarship for Academic Proficiency was established in September. A $300 scholarship presented to a student from Delta Secondary School.

1964- The Club raised $920 to give to the Alaska Earthquake fund. They also began their first major fundraiser at Patterson Park, with Delta Raceways. Club members staffed the admission gates for the harness races for many years beginning in 1964.

1966 -The first of many "Rotary Cabaret" fund raising evenings that involved the club and the Rotary Anns. For eight years members of the club put on a cabaret -style show complete with members dressed as female dancers. This year also saw the initial sponsorship leading the BC TB Christmas Seal Society campaign in Ladner and Tsawwassen.

1967 - Major involvement in Summer Student Exchange tours and a regional Swedish Group exchange.

1968 -The beginning of the Young Voyageurs program sending students to Quebec and hosting French Canadian students here. The exchange lasted many years.

1970- International Japanese Businessmen's Exchange.

1971 - Began sending a student once a year to Ottawa in Rotary's Adventures in Citizenship. Also the first year delivering hampers at Christmas to those less fortunate, a program that is still carried out every year with the help of a number of service clubs. And it was the year the club began beautification projects with the Municipality including tree planting near the Municipal Hall, park improvements, hanging baskets and park benches leading to a major project eight years later.

1973 - Annual Rotary Club Scholarship presented for academic proficiency each September was increased to three per year. Boat, Trailer and Motor raffle - a successful fund raiser that began in 1973 and lasted a number of years.

1976 -The Club was the host for the annual District 504 Conference held in Richmond with Dugald Morrison as the conference chair.

1977 - Delta Hospital was the recipient of a $10,000 pledge for an in-ground sprinkler system with proceeds from the "250  Club” and the Boat and Trailer Raffle. The unique "250 Club"  was an annual lottery draw with a gourmet dinner.

1978 - Hosted first full year Rotary Youth Exchange Student, Yara Ferreiera from Brazil. The club's outbound student was Ron Stewart and he went to Australia.

1979- Ground-breaking for Rotary Park next to City Hall - a major club project.

1980- Celebration of Rotary's 75th anniversary. Club had a special meeting at the home of Rotarian Don Abramson, the grandson of the James W. Davidson one of Rotary’s most important personalities. Davidson worked to expand Rotary in Australia, New Zealand and in the Middle East and Asia in the 1920 and 1930s. The club also made a donation to Delta Hospital for Stress Testing equipment and continued to support the Acute Care Unit.

1981 - In the spring during the presidency of Ab Neufeld the preparation to form a Rotary Club in North Delta began. The new club was chartered on September 10.

1983 - A number of Rotarians sat on the panel of the Delta School Board's "Expectations of the Eighties" conference to provide input and insight into possible changes for the school system to help meet the needs of the residents of Delta. Rotarian Ross Purse initiated discussions on the formation of a foundation that later became the Delta Foundation and is now known as the Delta Community Foundation.

1988 – an international service project in Cebu, Philippines was started. The object of the project was to train and educate poor farmers to alleviate their poverty. The project trained them to grow and market crops and set up cooperatives. The project received funding from The Rotary Foundation and the Government of Canada (CIDA) and the Rotary Club of Ladner.

1989 – Roberta Stewart became the first female member of the Rotary Club of Ladner with the classification of bank management.

1992 - the first TV auction was held in cooperation with Delta Cable. The auction started during the year Ed Klassen was president. Hank Velhuis came up with the idea and Stan Thomas, Rotarian and owner of Delta Cable gave is supplor.

1992- The club sponsored the Rotary Club of Tsawwassen (Delta).b

1995 – Michael Cruise served as District Governor for Rotary International District 5040

1996 – Irene Forcier – the first female president of the Rotary Club of Ladner

2005 – The Rotary Club of Ladner sponsored the Rotary Club of Vancouver Centennial

2008 – 160 people attended a gala dinner at the Delta Town and Country Inn to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the Rotary Club of Ladner

2010 – In cooperation with the Rotary Club of North Delta and the Rotary Club of Tsawwassen the Delta Youth Awards were established to recognize outstanding contributions from Delta’s new generations.

2011 – Established the Interact Club at Delta Secondary School