Service to community is alive and well in Jefferson County, according to Elmo Blum of Herculaneum.
And he should know.
Blum, who turned 98 in June, is a lifelong county resident and a 61-year member of the Festus-Crystal City Rotary Club, which celebrated its 75th anniversary during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Festus-Crystal City club is one of five in Jefferson County. The other four include Arnold, De Soto, High Ridge and Hillsboro. The De Soto and Festus-Crystal City clubs were chartered in the 1940s, Arnold in the 1950s and the other two in the 1970s.
Three years ago, the five clubs formed an alliance called Jefferson County Rotary Clubs Inc., banding together to host an annual fundraising golf tournament. The proceeds went to the Jefferson County Health Department in 2018 and to Mary’s House of Hope in 2019.
“The current project is raising funds for the Jefferson County Health Department’s Mobile Wellness Initiative,” said Kirk Jackson, Festus-Crystal City club member and former president.
This year’s golf tourney is set for Friday, Sept. 17, at the Oak Valley golf course in Pevely. Information and registration is available online at
Over the years, the clubs have supported a lot of community causes, including the creation of a county health agency, Jefferson Memorial Hospital (now Mercy Hospital Jefferson) and Jefferson College, as well as the institution of countywide planning and zoning. The group also funds a countywide Rotary scholarship, as well as individual ones through each club.
Margie Sammons of the Arnold club recently was named governor of Rotary District 6060, which includes the local clubs as well as about 50 more in eastern Missouri.
“The world and the community need Rotary more now today than ever,” Sammons said. “Especially after this past year, governments and businesses find themselves unable to provide all that society needs – food, clothing, mentorship. As a preeminent civic organization, Rotary is bridging the gap.”
Blum said Rotarians, like the members of other service organizations in the area, lead by example.
“When you get out and do things, you attract people, it appears to me,” he said. “If you’re doing something, people get interested and want to become a part of it.”
Blum said he is concerned about the effect the pandemic has had on community groups and their ability to schedule activities.
“Attendance has dropped drastically. But I think people will be coming back and wanting to be part of it,” he said.
Rotary International, founded in 1905, has 35,000 clubs with 1.2 million members across the globe. Their stated mission is to promote peace, fight disease, support education, grow local economies, save mothers and children, and provide clean water, sanitation and hygiene.
Festus-Crystal City
The Festus-Crystal City Rotary Club has 51 members and meets at noon Tuesdays at Elks Lodge 1721 in Crystal City. Current president is Megan Siracusa Meyer.
The club was chartered in July 1945 with 22 original members. By the end of that year, there were 31 members and the club had already donated $30 to the Junior Chamber of Commerce for Christmas charities.
Over the first decade of its existence, the club began sponsoring youth sporting organizations, instituted a Student of the Month program and decorated Festus and Crystal City streets for the Christmas holidays. Social activities included family picnics, trips to St. Louis Cardinals baseball games, family holiday parties and a Rotary Anns group.
Throughout the years, the club supported a variety of community causes, including the Community Chest and public libraries in both cities.
The club supported YMCA summer programs, Boys and Girls State, Special Olympics and the March of Dimes. It hosted visiting students from foreign countries and donated to the Crystal City Girl Scout House.
The Festus-Crystal City club also helped fund equipment for city park playgrounds and raised more than $10,000 for the Jefferson County YMCA Fund. The late 1980s saw the induction of the club’s first female members.
The Rotary Club got involved with organizing the annual Twin City Days festival, which kicked off in 1995 and will return this year Sept. 9-11, after cancellation in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Some of the more recent large projects include gazebos in both Crystal City and Festus parks and the sponsorship of a Habitat for Humanity home in Crystal City. Smaller projects included red granite benches in the parks and outdoor furniture and picnic tables for the Emergency Women’s Shelter. The club also sponsored the Festus High School Rocket Club.
The club’s most recent projects include a bicycle shelter and repair kiosk at the intersection of Fifth Street and Sunshine Drive in Festus.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the club to delay its 75th anniversary celebration in 2020, and to relocate meetings from its longtime venue at Frederick’s Banquet Center.
De Soto
The De Soto Rotary Club has 21 members and meets at noon Tuesdays at St. Andrew’s Methodist Church, 1004 Rock Road. Current president is David Duncan.
Longtime member Richard Bell said for many of its projects, the club works in cooperation with other groups, like the Chamber of Commerce and P.R.I.D.E.
“We share personnel and resources,” he said. “So, it can be hard to separate who did what. And it doesn’t matter; the bottom line really is making things happen to make our community better.”
Bell said Rotary has helped with the ongoing development of the city’s Walther Park, adding a gazebo and sponsoring with other projects.
“We help with Christmas decorations, and we work with the chamber on its Train Days event,” he said.
Other De Soto Rotary Club projects have included sponsoring Boys and Girls State participants, installing lighting at the city’s Little League fields, tree projects on Main Street and at Walther Park and the installation of the fountain at City Hall. In recent years, the club also has hosted a community pancake breakfast and the popular St. Louis Big Band concerts.
Hillsboro
The Hillsboro Rotary Club was chartered in 1974. It has 27 members and meets at noon Thursdays at the Russell House Restaurant, 10333 Business 21, in Hillsboro. Current president is Brian Gaudet.
The Hillsboro club supports a variety of community education programs and offers an annual pancake breakfast.
Many of the club’s meetings feature guest speakers with entertaining and informative presentations on a variety of topics, from serious ones like human trafficking and economic development to more offbeat ones like the Shakespearean origin of words, intergenerational attitudes, the Sheriff’s Office K9 staff and even birthday traditions.
Arnold
The Arnold Rotary Club, founded in 1958, has 51 members and meets at 12:15 p.m. Wednesdays at Wesley Rogers Steakhouse at Richardson Road and Jeffco Boulevard. Current president is Drew Sofia.
The Arnold club has sponsored a pancake breakfast since the 1970s and helps feed more than 1,300 county children weekly through participation in the Brenden’s Friday Backpacks program.
The club delivered more than 700 free Thanksgiving meals in 2020. It helps staff the local Salvation Army kettle drives and sponsors a duck race and a rock-n-roll bingo event.
In partnership with other local service organizations, the club works with Hammers of Hope to help with home repair and renovations. The club also sponsors eyeglass clinics in Haiti, Mexico and impoverished areas of the U.S. The club regularly supports the Pony Bird homes in the county and offers the annual Wesley R. Griffith Rotary Scholarship.
High Ridge
The High Ridge Rotary Club was chartered in 1976, sponsored by the Festus-Crystal City club. It has 32 members and meets at noon Tuesdays at Jilly’s Cafe & Steakhouse, 1630 Gravois Road, in High Ridge. Current president is Ron Deichmann.
The club recently completed two projects with grant money from Rotary International’s Community Assistance Program. The first CAP grant funded the installation of suicide prevention signs in highly visible locations such as schools, businesses and along roadways. The second project was the installation of custom metal benches along the pickleball courts at the High Ridge Civic Center.
Club members took part in a road cleanup along Hwy. 30 in April, as well as Earth Day festivities in the community. It also hosted the annual St. Patrick’s Day dance and offered free Thanksgiving dinners.
Along with other clubs, High Ridge supported Rotary International’s efforts to eradicate polio worldwide and to partner with the Gates Foundation to help lift families out of poverty.
The club also took part in the annual Old Newsboys Day campaign to raise funds for children’s charities in the St. Louis area.
Looking to the future
Bell, a De Soto Rotary Club member since 1965, says he has seen changes over the years, but interest is still strong, across all age groups.
“I think it hasn’t diminished any, for sure; if anything, it’s grown,” he said. “If there are needs in our community, there doesn’t seem to be a line around the age groups. Community service is kind of a timeless concept.”
Blum agreed and pointed to the Rotary Youth Leadership Academy, which draws young people into community service.
“We take a student from each high school and pay $500 each to send them each summer to the university in Warrensburg,” he said. “I think we’ve had a big influence on the community.”
Blum said he sees a bright future for community service and volunteerism in general.
“People want to get out and help others,” he said. “This community is responsive to that. There are so many ways people can help here in Jefferson County, and we always like to have new members.”
Rotary Club membership is by invitation. Those interested in joining may contact any Rotarian or go online to rotary.org and click on “join.”