The Rotary Club of Ajax
Club Beginnings
Cecil Winter,
1st President,
Rotary Club of Ajax.
 
The first attempt in 1949 to establish a Rotary Club in Ajax was unsuccessful as its application was denied by the District. In 1950 the matter was reintroduced to the District and was supported by Arthur Ferguson of Gravenhurst, the District Governor at the time. He, along with Rotarians Harry Boyes and George Finley of the Pickering Club, recruited a roster of prospective members and in 1951 the Rotary Club of Ajax, sponsored by Clubs from Pickering, Whitby and Oshawa, came into being. The Club’s first meeting of twenty members took place on January 9, 1951 at the Saddle and Bridle Inn located east of Pickering Beach Road. A Committee was formed to organize its Charter Night, the occasion at which the Club’s Charter would be officially presented to the first Club President, Cecil Winter.
 
Over seventy years ago, on March 17, 1951, with twenty members, the Rotary Club of Ajax was chartered as the 46th club in District 247 (now District 7070). Charter Night was held in the Recreation Hall of the former Defence Industries Limited building. Club essentials, such as its bell, pictures, a clock, flags, and nametags were donated that evening. The Charter of the Rotary Club of Ajax predates the 1955 incorporation of the Town of Ajax. For its entire history residents of the Town of Ajax have benefited from the activities of this club so long ago envisioned by a group of progressive individuals.
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