History of the Portsmouth Sunrise Rotary Club

During the fall of 1997, the leadership of the Portsmouth Rotary Club voted to create a committee to create a second Rotary Club within the Portsmouth area.  For many years there had been talk about the need for a second club as the lunch club had grown to over 225 members and several members had left stating that they could not attend at lunch but would welcome a breakfast club.  Another motivation for starting a new club was the influx of new business at Pease and that became the central focus for the chartering effort.

John Hebert, Ted Alex, George Pierce and Bud Watt became the “Extension Committee” that was charged with making it happen.  They started with a list of prospective members and informal education sessions.  They recruited Colonel Ken Clark, a former member of the lunch club in the late 80’s and asked him to serve as an interim president to get meetings started while growing to the minimum number for chartering a new club.

The first meetings were held at Barnstormers Restaurant at Pease International Tradeport.  By May 1^st the requisite members were recruited and Rotary International was petitioned for a Charter for a new club in District 7780.  A Charter Night was held on June 27, 1998 at the Redhook Brewery.

District Governor Marie A. Williams of Kittery presented the Charter to 24 members in a ceremony attended by nearly every club in the District.  Sergeant-At-Arms Andrea Goggins was in charge of the arrangements for what was truly a gala event.  Jim Labrie, Past President of the Portsmouth Club and Past Governor of District 7780 was the keynote speaker.  Truth be known, this was the fulfillment of a dream for Jim as he had supported the creation of a second Portsmouth Club since the late eighties.

The club quickly became a favorite make-up location and new members filled the ranks as some of the charter members moved on to other locations. 

The clubs greatest bond, fundraiser and frustration was presented when the Lunch Club gave the Sunrise Club a tent that it had been renting.  Finding a team to put up the tent from a small club often proved to be a weekend challenge.  It proved to be a great way for members to work side-by-side and many fun socials resulted.

A signature fund-raising event became a club focus and Jerry Karcher brought a guest speaker from Gilford to share their success with a Hole-in-one Golf Tournament.  The idea caught on with the new club and in May of 2000 the first “Million Dollar Golf Challenge” was held.  A second annual event was adopted with the “Best Pizza in Portsmouth” contest in the fall.

Today the club flourishes and enjoys the close camaraderie that comes when it takes nearly every member to pull off a fundraiser. 

ACTIVE CHARTER  MEMBERS:

1. Doug Bates
2. Jerry Karcher
3. Jon Leavitt
4. Rick Mason
5. Martha Netsch
6. Joan Nickell
7. Drew O'Keefe
8. John Ricci
9. Perry Saunders
10. George Toscano