Rotary Club of Monrovia - Liberia

Cllr Christian Maxwell was the Charter President and Mr Bobby Naidoo was the Charter Secretary. History of Rotary International

Paul P.

Rotary International, founded on on 23 February 1905 by Paul Harris in Chicago, IL was visioned as a place where professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas and form meaningful, lifelong friendship. History of Rotary Club of Monrovia

The Rotary Club of Monrovia was originally chartered by Rotary International on January 24, 1964 as the first Rotary Club in Liberia with 29 members

from business and professional classifications that ranged from engineering to medicine to insurance to transportation, law and many others. The club meetings were held on Fridays at 7pm at the Ducor Hotel. Following its initial charter in 1964, the Rotary Club of Monrovia sought others who were committed to Service Above Self and sponsored the Rotary Club of Yekepa in 1970, the Rotary Clubs of St Paul River and Buchanan in 1985, the Rotary Club of Gbargna in 1987 and the Rotary Club of Sinkor in 2008. The Rotary Club of Monrovia was instrumental in supporting the chartering of the Rotary Club of Harper in 2007. Harris, an attorney, wanted to create a professional group with the same friendly spirit he felt in the small towns of his youth. On 23 February 1905, Harris, Gustavus Loehr, Silvester Schiele, and Hiram Shorey gathered at Loehr’s office in Room 711 of the Unity Building in downtown Chicago. This was the first Rotary club meeting. They decided to call the new club “Rotary” after the practice of rotating meeting locations. Within five years clubs had formed across the country, from San Francisco to New York. In August 1910, Rotarians held their first convention in Chicago. The 16 clubs that existed at that time united to form the National Association of Rotary Clubs. In 1912, the name changed to International Association of Rotary Clubs to reflect the addition of clubs in other countries. The name Rotary International was adopted in 1922. By July 1925, Rotary had grown to more than 2,000 clubs and an estimated 108,000 members on six continents. Rotary’s reputation attracted presidents, prime ministers, and a host of other luminaries to its ranks — among them author Thomas Mann, diplomat Carlos P. Romulo, and composer Jean Sibelius. As Rotary grew, members pooled their resources and used their talents to serve their communities. The organization's dedication to this ideal is best expressed in its motto: Service Above Self.

24/02/2026

23/02/2026

One hundred and twenty-one years ago today, on a cold evening in Chicago, four friends gathered in the office of Gustavus Loehr. There was no grand global vision and no talk of ending disease or building peace, just a simple desire for fellowship in a fast-growing city.

*Paul Harris (a lawyer), Silvester Schiele (a Coal merchant), Gustavus Loehr (a Mining engineer), and Hiram Shorey (a Merchant tailor)* decided to keep meeting, rotating their gatherings among their offices. That small decision gave their new group its name: Rotary.

What began as friendship soon grew into something bigger. The men started asking a powerful question: *What if we could use our professions to serve our communities?* From that moment, a movement was born.

Today, under Rotary International, millions around the world continue to carry forward that same spirit of *friendship and service above self.

From four friends in Chicago to a global force for good, *the story of Rotary is still being written.
The Rotary Club of Monrovia - Liberia is proud to be a part of this journey.

Photos from Rotary Club of Monrovia - Liberia's post

20/02/2026

The Rotary Clubs in Liberia, on February 15, paid a joint visit to the family of a fallen Honorary Rotarian, Centenarian Hon. Rtn Eva Coleman Geaorge, of the Rotary Club of Sinkor.
It was a solemn moment of reflection on her life as a Rotarian. May her soul find peaceful repose.

19/02/2026

Today, the Rotary Club of Monrovia - Liberia honored an invitation to the official launch and commissioning of the Liberia Standards Authority. The President of the RCM, G. Gbassay Golee
graced the occasion. Also in attendance were the President of the Republic, Heads of Missions in Liberia, Private Sector Actors, Government officials, local enterprises and other stakeholders. This land mark achievement opens a gateway for improved trade and economic growth for the people of Liberia.

19/02/2026

Rtn Abla Gadegbeku Williams brought her A game to the Talent Show