Rotary Means Business is an R.I. Fellowship focused on helping Rotarians do
business. Here in Westchester County, we hold monthly networking meetings open to all - Rotarians and non-Rotarians alike.
Networking: In 1905, our founder Paul Harris conceived Rotary as a way for business
and professional men to help and support each other in their businesses. He called it fellowship and
mutual helpfulness; today we call it networking. In 1945, Paul Harris explained:
"This new club was called Rotary because in the early days the members met in rotation
in their various places of business so that they might come to know one another better.
The heart and soul of the first Rotary Club in Chicago was fellowship...
...and the original idea of mutual helpfulness evolved into the idea of general helpfulness."
Women were not allowed to be members of Rotary until 1987.
White Plains played a meaningful role in changing Rotary's
rules to admit women! Thank God we did! Here is the
rest of the story.
First women inducted as members by an R.I. president were in
White Plains!
The first R.I. President to induct women was M.A.T.Caparas
who came to White Plains in 1987 to induct Jo Falcone. MAT
was a long-time close friend of our member PDG Andy Morzello
who arranged the visit to RCWP. MAT passed away at age 97 in
2020.
Read Andy Morzello's Tribute/In Memoriam
to M.A.T.
In Rotary, we have no tolerance for racism. Rotary values diversity and celebrates the contributions of
people of all backgrounds, regardless of their age, ethnicity, race, color, abilities, religion,
socioeconomic status, culture, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Rotary strives to build a world
where people unite and take action to create lasting change.
The Rotary Club of White Plains is part of Rotary International, an organization of 1.2 million
individuals from around the world and, consistent with RI's principles, is a multicultural, multiethnic
organization welcoming all people. The Club has long been committed to diversity in its membership and leadership.
Our Club supports the recent, peaceful protests addressed to racial injustice and encourages authorities
and community leaders to recognize the message being conveyed by these protests and to take all necessary
actions to address that message.
Our members acknowledge that racial justice cannot co-exist with systemic racism in our institutions
including policing, housing, education, access to affordable healthcare, incarceration and the justice
system. We agree the time is now for consistent and concerted efforts to make fundamental changes toward
finishing the work of achieving racial equality for everyone.
"To bring about change, you must not be afraid to take the first step. We will fail when we fail to try."
- Rosa Parks
Every year -- even during pandemic 2020 -- our Rotary club
is a sponsor of the Loucks Games, the largest high school
track meet on the East Coast. We are proud of our
involvement.
Report on the 2023 Goldberger 5K
The annual Loucks Games 3-day weekend is the largest Track and Field games on the East coast,
attracting over 3000 athletes to White Plains High School.
There is also a 5K road race, named after Rotarian
Charles O. Goldberger who has spearheaded it for many years.
2022 Loucks Track Meet Program
In 2022, as the Covid pandemic was easing and in-person meetings resumed, White Plains High School
hosted the 54th Annual "Glenn D. Loucks Memorial Track & Field Games."
The program was dedicated to 2 Rotarians - Manson Donaghey and Josephine Falcone - who both served
important roles as supporters of the Loucks Games.
Check out these pages from the official program book.
We award scholarships every year to students at the high
schools in White Plains. In addition, we make contributions
to community groups and we support The Rotary Foundation of
Rotary International.
Click for a contribution summary.
RCWP member George Koplinka joined our club in 1966 and
became interested in postage stamps commemorating Rotary
around the world. He soon found a rich history of different
countries honoring Rotary by issuing postal stamps, and he
became a collector. In December 2019 George donated his
collection to our club. We have developed a photo archive of
some parts of George's collection. It is found in our
website "Archives"
which can be accessed from the main menu.
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