The Tewksbury Rotary Club is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2021, and everyone is asking, "where has the time gone?"
In 1961, twenty-three Tewksbury businessmen approached the Lowell Rotary Club to ask if they would sponsor a new Club in Tewksbury. The completed paperwork was sent to Rotary International, and on May 31, 1961, the Tewksbury Rotary Club was formed, with John Gleason selected to be its first President.
In the first year, the Club started right off with fund-raisers that included a cookout, a golf-tournament, and also a Thanksgiving Turkey Raffle. In the Club's newsletter, called The Pinion, it was written that winner of the Thanksgiving turkey raffle was Jack Fitzgerald, who was a visitor from Wilmington. The turkey was still alive, and it seems Jack had a real problem with it before getting it home.
Rotary International was originally a men's service club, and in July of 1989, it eliminated the "male-only" requirement, and began to include women in their ranks. Currently, women in Rotary International represent approximately 22% of its membership.
Retired Dentist, Barry Pushkoff, was one of the members of the Club in 1961, and remains an active member today.
Currently meeting weekly at the Tewksbury Country Club, the Tewksbury Rotary Club remains committed to supporting students through Scholarships, Hat's Off student recognition, Bell Ringing for the Salvation Army at Christmas, helping to facilitate Red Cross Blood Drives, along with providing gifts to the residents of the Hawthorne Unit, and gifts and a party to residents of the Hart House and their children at Christmas.
Our biggest fund raiser is our annual Taste of the Town, and you will see it return this year on March 16, 2022, at the Tewksbury Country Club.
If you would like information on the Club, and/or membership, please contact Ken Sprague (Club President), at ken@kensprague.com, or 781-975-6500