The Jim Thorpe Rotary Club celebrated its 100th anniversary last week with a dinner at Café Arielle on West Broadway.

Local attorney Anthony Roberti was honored with a plaque for his decades long membership to the club, which was chartered on May 15, 1924.

“I’ve been a member of Jim Thorpe Rotary for nearly 50 years,” Roberti said. “I was young and just starting out. I thought it would be useful to get to know people and that is what drew me to join.”

The club currently has 29 members and meets most Tuesdays at noon for lunch.

According to Roberti, the Jim Thorpe Rotary has overseen the construction of a gazebo at the downtown Josiah White Park, operated the Rotary Summer Program for local children for 28 years, operated “ghost walks” as a fundraiser, sponsored international study and school exchanges, and supported students through college scholarships.

The group has also supported local, national and international causes, including contributing to the eradication of polio.

“One of the many goals of Rotary International was the eradication of polio,” Roberti said. “This goal is nearly accomplished. Polio can still be found in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan but nowhere else in the world.”

The club regularly supplies financial support for 25 local charities and organizations. Recently, the club played an important role in the opening of a Jim Thorpe preschool and child care center at St. Joseph’s Regional Academy by Lehigh Valley Children’s Center.

“Rotary members were the catalyst,” member Jeanne Miller said of the childcare project. “We did the needs assessment, prioritized the need for preschool, and it came to fruition, helping working families. Many people wanted to work but they could not find a quality, safe, and affordable place for childcare. This was big for our community.”

Miller joined the Jim Thorpe Rotary in 1999. During an interview last year, she said the evolution of club initiatives and services have made a significant impact on the community.

Donating dictionaries to schools was once a Rotary staple, but the ability for students to look up definitions with a simple Google search has eradicated that need.

“Instead of the dictionaries, we started giving grants to teachers so they could use the money for materials they need, whether it be things to support a STEM education or whatever the case may be,” Miller said.

Jim Thorpe Rotary President April Brugan emceed last week’s event, which was also attended by state Rep. Doyle Heffley, Carbon County Commissioner Michael Sofranko and Carol Etheridge, a representative of Congresswoman Susan Wild.

More information on joining the Rotary can be found on its website, www. jimthorperotary.org.