Our History

The Rotary motto of “Service Above Self” is well established in The Rotary Club of Santa Maria, which, as the oldest Rotary Club in Santa Maria, has the longest legacy of community service. It has been providing service in the Santa Maria valley for over 102 years. Sponsored by the Santa Barbara Club and chartered in 1922, the Club has sponsored the San Luis Obispo Rotary Club in 1923, Lompoc Rotary in 1925, the Guadalupe Rotary in 1940, the Santa Maria South Rotary Club in 1973 and Santa Maria Breakfast Rotary in 1984. 

The Club’s first meeting was held at the Santa Maria Inn, and The Club continues to meet there on Tuesdays at 12:00 p.m. The Rotary Club of Santa Maria also sponsors an Interact club at St. Joseph High School, which was established in 2006. The Club is also working to create additional Interact Clubs at two local high schools. The new local Rotaract Club for young professionals was also inspired by the club’s efforts. The club is an avid “End Polio Now” supporter, with generous contributions annually to Rotary International’s Polio Eradication Initiative. To date, the Club membership has contributed over $375,500.00 to the initiative. The Initiative has inoculated 2.5 billion people against this crippling disease since 1988 and has reduced the number of countries with polio cases down to two in 2016: Afghanistan and Pakistan. Rotary International expects all of the continent of Africa soon expected to be declared polio-free, once no cases are reported for three years.

The historical Rotary Club of Santa Maria boasts a strong link with Cecil B. DeMille, who, while filming “The Ten Commandments” in Guadalupe regularly attended club meetings at The Santa Maria Inn. His affection for the club led him to ask his Hollywood prop department to make a Rotary Wheel for the club, which he presented to club members. This wheel now sits in the Santa Maria Historical Museum. The Rotary Club of Santa Maria is a proud co-sponsor of the Christmas Parade of Lights, working with the other Rotary Clubs in Santa Maria and Nipomo for several months to assure that all logistics are managed efficiently.

Besides sponsoring the parade, the club has joined with the other local Rotary clubs in the building of Rotary Centennial Park and the Central Coast Literacy Center in the Santa Maria Library. Jointly the local clubs have worked to clean up the Dunes Center in Guadalupe and Oso Flaco Lake, and have sponsored the “Concerts in the Park” during the summer. The Club has also provided support for international projects of other local clubs.