Rotary Club of Latrobe celebrates century of community service

Apr. 23—Covid-19 pandemic restrictions prevented the Rotary Club of Latrobe from holding its annual projects fundraising dinner earlier this year at Saint Vincent College's Fred Rogers Center.

But that's not going to keep the organization from continuing the mission it's carried out for the past century: serving the needs of the community.

The club will celebrate its 100th anniversary with a May 1 dinner at Latrobe's DiSalvo's Station Restaurant. President Amy Peer noted the organization will have exclusive use of the restaurant and a tent for the event. So, "There will be plenty of space for social distancing," she said.

Founded on that same date in 1921, with sponsorship from Greensburg's Rotary organization, the Latrobe club has grown from 24 members to a roster of 47.

With proceeds of the projects dinner over about 35 years, "We've given away over half a million dollars to local charities," said Ron Pastor, an insurance agent in Unity and a member of the Latrobe Rotary club since 1987. He is a past president of the organization and its current treasurer.

The club is considering rescheduling the projects dinner for later this year. Because it is held outdoors, the pandemic didn't affect the Rotary club's 2020 summer golf outing.

Held each August at the Latrobe Country Club, the outing usually raises between $12,000 and $15,000 for the Rotary club's backpack program, Pastor said. Backpacks filled with food are provided during the weekend for younger Greater Latrobe students who may be experiencing food insecurity at home.

"We started that program in January 2015, serving 27 students, and we're currently at about 170," said Peer, who is the manager at Latrobe Ford and Chevy. Grants also help cover that program's annual budget of about $60,000, according to Pastor.

Since its founding, the Latrobe club's programs and activities have changed along with the times. In 1972, the club began a popular series of international travelogue presentations that helped raise money for charitable causes and four $1,000 scholarships the club presents annually to seniors at the Greater Latrobe and Derry Area school districts.

The club continued to support global awareness through an international youth exchange program and participation in charitable efforts in other countries.

"We had members of the club fly down and help renovate a schoolhouse in Brazil," Pastor said.

But, he noted, with the advent of travel programs on cable TV, interest in the travelogues waned. They no longer turned a profit and were dropped as the 20th century came to a close.

Over the years, the club has donated a piano and dictionaries for elementary students at Greater Latrobe. It helped provide television monitors that can be viewed by passengers processing through the terminal at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity, Pastor said.

The Latrobe Rotary club recently made a donation toward new holiday decorations for downtown Latrobe streets and, in one of its latest efforts, is helping to support a new community welcome sign at the point where Main and Depot streets converge.

The club also is partnering with Excela Health to offer a multiphasic blood analysis on May 1 at Excela Square at Latrobe.

"When there's anything in the community we can get involved in, we try to do it," said Peer. In pre-pandemic times, that included selling hot cocoa during the town's Holly Jolly Christmas celebration. When covid-19 arrived, the Rotary club provided bottled water for local front line medical staff.

The club also has contributed toward updating local playgrounds and previously organized local high school basketball tournaments. With an initial commitment of $75,000 in 1995, the club developed Rotary Park at Youngstown Field, located near the Greater Latrobe secondary school complex.

With assistance from local companies, including equipment and supplies, the club installed two pavilions that are available to the public and auxiliary athletic facilities for the school district. Pastor noted the park is home to girls' softball and field event practice sessions. Students participate in aquatic studies in the park's stream, which also has been used for Rotary fishing derbies.

"We're pretty proud of that project," he said. "It's the biggest one we've done over the years."

The Latrobe Rotary club holds weekly luncheon meetings on Wednesdays in the banquet room at the airport. Peer has been working to establish an alternate evening meeting for those who can't make it to the midday meal.

It's one way she's trying to attract new, younger members to the ranks.

At the district level of the Rotary organization, the Latrobe club has been named Club of the Year several times since 1991-92.

"Service above self is what we're all about," Pastor said of the Rotary mission statement.

Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jeff at 724-836-6622, jhimler@triblive.com or via Twitter .