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District 5630, established in 1937, is comprised of some 1398 (as of 1 July 2008) members representing 36 clubs. Although the geographic expanse is vast, running from north and south of Grand Island and to western Nebraska throughout the panhandle excluding Scottsbluff/Gearing, all the way to Chadron, the local Rotary Clubs play a vital part in each community. Together, they are a major force in helping fund the Rotary Foundation and supporting International projects. This year DG Thomas L. (Tom) Kraus from the Ogallala club is at the helm.
The first Rotary club in the District was the Kearney Club, chartered in 1918 with Lincoln Rotary serving as sponsor club and C.E. Alison making the charter presentation to John W. Patterson of Kearney. At that time RI thought no club could properly function in a city with fewer than 25,000, but because of the urgent intervention of the Lincoln Club, RI consented to admit Kearney as an experiment. So, the Kearney Rotary, with its 15 members, not only became the third club in the state, but also the first service club of its kind. One of the early highlights of the club was a visit from Chief Justice William Taft, who later became a U.S. president.
The second club to charter, with Lincoln Rotary as its sponsor club, was Hasting Noon in 1919, with Dr. James Begthol as the first president. For 60 years the club met at the historic Hotel Clarke in downtown Hastings. Now the meetings are at Taylor's Steak House. One of their outstanding Rotary events of the early 1920's was the organization of a variety show in the Kerr Opera House. During depression years in the 1930's the club came close to disbanding. An outstanding alum was Harry Russell, club president, DG and a member of RI board. In 1993, the club chartered the Hastings Sunrise Club.
District 5630 has a strong RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards Camp) and Youth Exchange Program. Even small clubs with less than 30 members, often send four candidates to RYLA. Local club meetings are held in a variety of sites, including an opera house, bank building, hospital center and a cattle company. While our largest club North Platte Noon has some 122 members, our smallest Oxford continues to carry on with 10 members. Several members of our District have Rotary International positions. Although basically a conservative District, we have stepped out of this role on occasion, once staging a District Conference at Estes Park, CO. Distinguished alumni, among others, are the first District Governor Charles Cadwallader of Lincoln, PDG Ben Hormel, who served on the RI board of directors, and former Nebraska governor Frank Morrison, both of McCook Rotary.
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Website Sponsors
| District Governor 2009-2010
James Shreck & Spouse Annette
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| District Governor 2010-2011
David Snow & Spouse Connie |
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| District Governor 2011-2012 Ron L. Bazata and Spouse Mindy |
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| Past District Governor 2008-2009
Thomas L. Kraus & Spouse Janet |
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