WHEREAS,  in June of 1925, 20 years after the first Rotary Club was formed by Paul P. Harris in Chicago, the Belfast Rotary Club received its charter through the extended efforts of several Belfast residents, including Linwood B. Thompson, who would serve as its first president; and

WHEREAS,  for the last 90 years, 90 men and women from the Belfast region have stepped forward to serve as the President of the Belfast Rotary Club to lead its great humanitarian efforts on a local, state, national and international level; and

WHEREAS,  for 90 years, hundreds of individual men and women from the Belfast region have come forward to serve as honored members of the Belfast Rotary Club under the motto "Service Above Self"; and

WHEREAS,  at the local level, the Belfast Rotary Club has provided annual financial support for international community and student exchanges, established a scholarship program that over the last 32 years has provided over $425,000 in scholarships, organized and run community events, supported food pantries, brought Christmas gifts to low-income persons in the region and contributed to other charitable and targeted efforts to support those most challenged or in need; and

WHEREAS,  today the Belfast Rotary Club proudly works every day with 32,000 Rotary Clubs in over 200 countries around the world; and Rotary International has contributed more than $900,000,000 to the eradication of polio and annually assists with humanitarian projects in impoverished and threatened regions around the globe; and

WHEREAS,  the Belfast Rotary Club stands today as an exceptional example of the generosity, warmth and caring nature of Belfast residents; now, therefore, be it