Rotary club to build gazebo to mark its centennial The Rotary Club of Saskatoon has long helped raise money for charities and started community initiatives, including a recent one to help counter bullying in schools.

The Rotary Club of Saskatoon (Canada, D 5550) broke ground on a new project in celebration of the club’s 100th anniversary.

The club’s centennial project is a newly proposed gazebo to be built in Rotary Park along the river.

Rotary International President Ian Riseley was in the city on Tuesday for the announcement and ceremonial ground-breaking.

“Isn’t it impressive that an organisation can be present, serving the community for 100 years?” he said.

“One hundred years is a significant celebration … it’s just a super achievement.”

Riseley, who is Australian, said he travels often for the Rotary Club’s affairs and was delighted to be able to take part in this historic moment for the club in Saskatoon.

“It’s a lot of service over a long period of time, so I think my role should be to congratulate them and I’m happy to do that,” he said.

The Rotary Club of Saskatoon has long helped raise money for charities and started community initiatives, including a recent one to help counter bullying in schools.

Internationally, the Rotary Club has been working with other partners towards eradicating polio around the world.

According to Mark Gryba, President of the Saskatoon Rotary, a gazebo was chosen as the project so it could be visible and accessible to as many people in Saskatoon as possible.

“One thing we noticed in our considerations, when you go to parks you often see new Canadian families gathering for picnics … so we thought, again, this would be a great tie-in to the community as a whole,” Gryba said.

Gryba said he’s hopeful and optimistic for the club’s future.

“Our legacy is what the motto is, and the motto is ‘service above self.’ And that’s what we hope to leave — that this is a group of community-minded individuals that care about the community, willing to put the time and effort and money into doing things that benefit the community at large.”

Source: The Star Phoenix