DEARBORN, MI – The Rotary Club of Dearborn will be celebrating its centennial birthday this year with a gala celebration event marking its 100 years of “Service Above Self” in the local community and everywhere a Rotary Club exists, and tickets are going fast.

Founded in 1923, the Rotary Club is acknowledged as the oldest service organization in Dearborn. They’ll be hosting a Gala event on Saturday, March 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the Michael A. Guido Theater at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center, 15801 Michigan Ave., to mark this special milestone.

The grand event will include a strolling dinner, followed by a concert featuring the Dennis Edwards' Temptations Review, and an opening performance by blues singer Thornetta Davis. Tickets begin at $75 and are limited in number.

“Plans are in progress for a grand anniversary celebration that will celebrate our special anniversary, while also serving as a way to fund a much-needed project to benefit Dearborn’s wonderful, diverse community,” stated Club Co-President, Colleen Nieman, who is also serving with Shannon Peterson.

Funding raised from the anniversary event will be used to renovate Dearborn’s Henry Ford Centennial Library’s auditorium to make it more accessible for individuals and groups with disabilities and other special needs.

“We are thrilled the Rotary Club has chosen the Henry Ford Centennial Library as the recipient for their fundraiser,” stated Julie Schaefer, Interim Library Director for the City of Dearborn. “The auditorium has needed an upgrade for some time, and the ability to improve the ADA compliance, as well as add more comfortable seating, is a great project. The auditorium is a gathering location for our entire community and serves so many people.”

As the oldest service group in the city of Dearborn, the Rotary has accomplished much to make a difference in lives, both locally and beyond. Some examples include:

Awarded more than $700,000 in scholarships since 1999 to graduating high school seniors, nursing students, and veterans

Partnering with local colleges, Henry Ford College and the University of Michigan-Dearborn, to fund integral projects for students and the community

Annual donations to the Dearborn Public Libraries for the purchase of new books

Introduction and funding of “My Potential Mentoring Program” in local high schools

Trees planted at Salina Elementary, Greenfield Village, and Rouge/Fort Street Heritage Park

Donations of food and supplies to children, families, and health care and municipal workers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic

More than three decades of volunteer work for Meals of Wheels and Telegraph Clean-Up

The Rotary Club’s Honorary Committee Chair is Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud.

The Honorary Committee Members include:

Ismael Ahmed, Member of the National Endowment of the Arts
Wayne County Commissioner Sam Baydoun
Dr. Fatima Beydoun, physician, and wife of Mayor Hammoud
Sandra and Paul Butler, Dearborn Symphony Orchestra benefactors
Michael Angelo Caruso, Rotarian, author, and speaker
Susan Dabaja, Michigan Third Circuit Court Judge
Domenico Grasso, University of Michigan-Dearborn Chancellor
Debbie Dingell, U.S. Representative
Gene Hunt, 19th District Court Judge
Roberta Katona, First Woman Dearborn Rotary President 1994-95
Russ Kavalhuna, Henry Ford College President
Glenn Maleyko, Dearborn Public Schools Superintendent
Sylvia Santana, State Senator
Traci Sincock, Rotary District 6400 Governor 2022-2023

To contact the Rotary Club with any questions or to purchase tickets for the event, you can email [email protected], call 734-726-0058, or visit their website.