HISTORY OF
THE ROTARY CLUB OF ALLEN SUNRISE

The Rotary Club of Allen Sunrise
Chartered
August 14, 1997
In 1997, largely due to the efforts of Linda Engle of the Allen Club, assisted by Cindy Alexander, the Rotary Club of Allen Sunrise was chartered. Barbara Erwin, then Superintendent of the Allen Independent School District, served as the club's first president. We were also graced that first year with the guidance of Plano Rotary Club member L.B. Broach who was assigned to monitor our club by the District. In September 1997, thirty members were installed as charter members; we still have many of those members. Over the years Kenneth Fulk, Danny McLarty, Kevin Kerr, and John Sprague followed in the office of president.
The history of the Rotary Club of Allen Sunrise is the story of many individuals stepping up and volunteering their time and their talent to respond to the needs of our community and of Rotary International. It is a special honor for the club to actively participate in the RYLA program, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards. Each year, the Sunrise Club sponsors two students, juniors at Allen High School, to participate in the week-long RYLA leadership camp. We are especially proud to have these students return and report on how much the experience has meant to them.
It is with great pride that the Rotary Club of Allen Sunrise partners with the Allen Independent School District in its volunteer work. Each year a growing number of our members continue to volunteer to read one-to-one with students at Rountree Elementary School.
Some of the club's community service activities include: adopting a mile and maintaining a clean-up schedule for a road in Allen,
The premier annual activity of the club, has been to sponsor the annual Allen Christmas parade. This is an activity which we partner with the Noon club to accomplish. It's such an exciting event to see nearly a hundred floats and many hundreds of kids make their way through Allen with the Rotary banner leading the way.
We have seen many members come and go over the years, and many have made significant contributions. To all our members, we say thank you.
John Sprague, President 2001-2002
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