The club was the second Rotary Club to be established in South Africa after the Johannesburg club.
According to Greg Stathacopoulos, the club was started on April 13, 1928, by the captains of industry and business owners of Benoni during that time.
“Prominent among those persons are Morris Nestadt (previous mayor of Benoni and Mr Benoni), Laurie Meyer, William Hills senior, Alan Barrable (previous mayor of Benoni), Stephen Koseff and two-time mayor, our own Sam Grolman,” said Stathacopoulos.
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According to Stathacopoulos, during the 90 years of existence, the club is responsible for helping many Rotary clubs in the East Rand, such as Germiston (1929), Boksburg (1938) Nigel (1939), Benoni van Ryn (1972), Springs (1935) and Rotary Benoni Aurora (1992).
“The club’s success lies in the members that were invited to make a difference in the community of Benoni,” he said.
The evening included the welcoming of new Rotary members and rewarding them for their continued efforts to help the community.
Grolman was given an award for being an honorary member of the club.
“What we are celebrating are those men and women who made a difference by espousing the Rotary motto of ‘Service Above Self’,” said Stathacopoulos.
Charmaine Williams, current president of the club, said the club is more focused on involving the youth within the community.
“We want the youth to do more. That way they can stay away from drugs and so help their community,” said Williams.
Williams went on to say that the Interact Club is continuing to grow, with it being one of the largest groups internationally.
“These children are absolutely amazing,” she said.
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