Saint George Rotary Club History
In the spring of 1997, a group of 20 businessmen and specialists with recognized activity in the county of Covasna were invited by the Rotary Club of Rijssen – Netherlands – to participate on a 30-day seminar where Rotarian activities were presented and the principles, goals, and actions undertaken by club members during the more than twenty-five years since they were constituted.
Out of this experience in the Netherlands, I decided to open the first Rotary club in the county along with several bosom friends.
The “First Steps” were difficult, but helped by our mentors from Rotary Clubs in Rijssen and Brasov, slowly we managed to meet regularly, to become organized, to make plans and to become acquainted with the Rotarian rules enshrined by Rotarians worldwide for almost one-hundred years.
When we were considered strong enough to “stand on our own feet” on the 19th of October, 2000 we received a Rotary Charter which confirms our entry in the wonderful universe of Rotary, by the headquarters of Rotary International U.S.
Under the leadership of our friend Beke Tibor, the first president of our club, our founding members began charity activities such as collecting funds and donations not only for those disadvantaged but also for the gifted children who lack financial resources from all over Covasna county.
During the ten years of our existence, we gained confidence in our abilities, since we had been organizing annual events which would become more and more important, more extended and we imposed higher and higher standards.
Those taking part in the leadership of the club: Németh Csaba Iosif architect, Füstös Imre engineer, Szőcs Gyula engineer, Dr. Lukács Andrei, Dr. Cherestes Ioan, Füstös Tibor engineer, Fazakas Csaba engineer, and from this year Keresztes Zoltán economist. They are all friends and each of them brought new lines of development both in terms of actions and internal organizing.
New members joined us, others left us, just as in everyday life, but those who remained compensated our loss made us more integrated, more responsible, more interested, more missed, more loved.
In retrospect, the charity activities changed our behavior, our way of looking at others in the community, who have troubles in life. Nothing made us happier, than the moments when we could present those around us with the vintage of our actions when we could bring a smile to the faces of children or elders who suffer.
We want to say emphatically and with the determination that our actions of charity had in the past, has in the present and will have in the future a disinterested character, lacking hidden purposes, being close to the community in which we were raised and to which we try to bring a morsel of relief.
The Rotary Club of Saint George intends to be a real factor in the local community life, where it wants to develop a series of projects aimed at community development. In pursuit of these noble purposes we continue to ask for the support of the local and county authorities, of the other local governmental and non-governmental organizations, and last but not least, we ask for help and support from economic units in the county as sponsors to carry out various programs and initiatives in support of the community members.