History

In the fall of 1921 a former Kansas City, Missouri Rotarian, by the name of Stan (E.R.) Stancliff conceived the idea of organizing a Rotary Club in Crete, Nebraska. Through his efforts a group of men were selected and they started holding regular meetings after which a letter was sent to the Lincoln Club inquiring as to the proper procedure to organize a club. This letter found its way to the desk of Verne Hedge, who was commissioned special representative by District Governor Luther A. Brewer of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to proceed with the organization.

On January 13, 1922 he held his first meeting with a group to effect a temporary organization and from then on it was a matter of formality. On Feb. 6, 1922, Verne received authority to organize the club and met with them to perfect the organization. On February 10, 1922 they met at their regular meeting and instituted the club.

The following officers and directors were elected:

• Everet L. Stancliff…...President
• William S. Collett…...Treasurer
• John N. Bennett ….V. President
• Milo D. Osterhout…...Director
• Glenn N. Venrick……Secretary
• Estel Spadt………Sgt. At Arms

The following Named Charter Members made payment of membership dues of $5.25 each to May 1, 1922: Rev. Ado Mosler, John N. Bennett, J. M. Dunham, W. S. Collett, C. E. Milks, R. J. Dredla, E. L. Stancliff, Estel D. Spadt, Ralph Pflasterer, A. A. Conrad, Hans Warkow, Ed M. Parker, W. M. Elliott, M. D. Osterhout, Glenn N. Venrick, R. (Dick) Jacobsen, and J. G. Miller.

The first meeting to recognize youth was held on March 14, 1922 to entertain the basketball team of Crete High, and Supt. C. H. Velte. The Charter presentation meeting was held April 27, 1922 at Sokol Hall in Crete. The charter was presented to Pres. Stancliff by District Governor, Luther A. Brewer of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

There were 54 Rotarians present from Lincoln No. 14, 8 Rotarians present from Beatrice, 10 Rotarians present from Fairbury, and 38 local non Rotarians. All sponsoring Rotarians conveyed their good wishes for the success of the new club.

By the end of June 1922, 8 new members had been proposed. The first meeting on record of the singing of our parting song was July 26, 1922. From about 1926 to 1936 the Crete Club held annually, an intercity picnic in August. A program was provided for all children and ladies, with golf for the men. In the evening a picnic dinner was served to more than two hundred.

For many years the club held annually a Father and Son Banquet. One such banquet had more than 600 in attendance. The club also has been a sponsor of the Boy Scouts since the fall of 1922.

Crete Rotary has served the District with three District Governors: Bob Hastings, Dr. Chauncey Lillibridge and Everett Darrington. The Crete Club sponsored the Wilber Club in 1928 and the Friend Club in 1936.

In 1946 a scholarship for a Crete student to Doane College was established and is still given each year. In the early sixties the club planted trees along the highway east of town. Several years later they built playground equipment, dugouts, backstops and fencing at what is now known as Rotary Park. The club has always supported all worthwhile projects in the community.

In 2004 the club applied for and received a Rotary Foundation Blane Grant. The money was used to promote the flu shot campaign in Crete and surrounding areas. In 2006 the club received a District Simplified Grant to fund CPR equipment and training materials.

Here is a snapshot of the activities of the Crete Rotary Club in 2008-09. The club grew from 21 to 24 members. Community service projects continued to be the focus of the club with 18 projects completed during the year. Some of the projects included assisting with the Shrine Bowl BBQ; counting laps, serving beverages, and recycling at the county fair; painting at Rotary Park and the Maples; highway cleanup along Highway 33; helping setup the Sokol haunted house; assisting the Crete Area Medical Center with flu-shot and health care clinics; delivering dictionaries to 3rd-grade students; decorating City Park during the holidays; assisting at the Crete Elementary School bookfair and carnival; flipping pancakes for the Boy Scouts; and cleaning up Scout Cabin. Funds for the Rotary Scholarship were raised via a grant from Walmart and a Sweetheart Dinner held in February. Three Crete High graduates were awarded the scholarships. The club received a District Simplified Grant to install a portable scoreboard at Rotary Park. In addition, the Crete Elementary School donated $600 towards the purchase of park benches for Rotary Park. In May, the club hosted a Group Study Exchange team from Taiwan for a half day. In addition to interesting programs, club assemblies began to include quarterly planning sessions utilizing committees and quarterly Rotary International/Rotary Foundation programs. Members of the club and their families enjoyed the annual District Governor's dinner, Christmas party, and Lincoln Saltdogs tailgate and game. To cap off a very successful year, the club earned a Rotary Presidential Citation.

The Crete Club supports The Rotary Foundation. They have seven active Paul Harris Fellows and 100% of the members are contributing to the Foundation.

Crete Rotary Club Presidents

1922 - Present 
1922 – 23 E. L. Stancliff 
1923 – 24 Richard Jacobsen 
1924 – 25 W. S. Collett 
1925 – 26 Charles Velte 
1926 – 27 M. D. Osterhout 
1927 – 28 A. T. Cassel 
1928 – 29 Frank Kobes 
1929 – 30 Earl Talhelm 
1930 – 31 C. C. Lillibridge 
1931 – 32 Ed Parker 
1932 – 33 Ralph Pflasterer 
1933 – 34 D. H. Wilson 
1934 – 35 A. A. Conrad 
1935 – 36 G. E. Darrington 
1936 – 37 Dwight Williams, Edd Wilding 
1937 – 38 Anton Plouzek 
1938 – 39 Robert Hastings 
1939 – 40 Fred Beinhoff 
1940 – 41 John Rothmuller 
1941 – 42 Merlin Sack 
1942 – 43 Fred Fahrnbruch 
1943 – 44 Glenn Jelinek 
1944 – 45 Glenn Buck 
1945 – 46 John Lothrop, Robert Kuncl 
1946 – 47 David Osterhout 
1947 – 48 Joe McGee 
1948 – 49 M. C. Hockenstad 
1949 – 50 Charles Steele 
1950 – 51 David Crawford 
1951 – 52 Loyd Oleson 
1952 – 53 A. J. Nebelsick 
1953 – 54 Ronald Douglas 
1954 – 55 Robert Miller 
1955 – 56 Paul Parker 
1956 – 57 W. E. Ziegenbein 
1957 – 58 Wm. Sonday 
1958 – 59 P. K. Collett 
1959 – 60 Joe Brabec 
1960 – 61 Robert J. Kuncl 
1961 – 62 James Grandt 
1962 – 63 C. J. Novak 
1963 – 64 John Johnston 
1964 – 65 Arnold Hein 
1965 – 66 Franklin Lothrop 
1966 – 67 David Osterhout, 3rd 
1967 – 68 Lyle Nelson 
1968 – 69 Fred Ahlschwede 
1969 – 70 Lowell Dodd 
1970 – 71 Melvin Andres 
1971 – 72 Walter Harris 
1972 – 73 Gabe Gunther 
1973 – 74 Keith Wiederspan 
1974 – 75 Ron Rucker 
1975 – 76 Jim Fahrnbruch 
1976 – 77 Loren Davidson 
1977 – 78 Dennis Nelsen 
1978 – 79 Gerald Kerst 
1979 – 80 Carleton Flynn 
1980 – 81 James Bastian 
1981 – 82 Virgil Chochon 
1982 – 83 Daryl Williams 
1983 – 84 Hubert Brown 
1984 – 85 Bill Gleason 
1985 – 86 Paul Bock 
1986 – 87 Lynn Lamberty 
1987 – 88 Jerry Butler 
1988 – 89 Erman Wheatcraft 
1989 – 90 Lori Wilson 
1990 – 91 Vicky Johnson 
1991 – 92 Tom Sorensen 
1992 – 93 Amy Kelley (Fish) 
1993 – 94 Collyn Florendo 
1994 – 95 George Clancy 
1995 – 96 Clint White 
1996 – 97 Brian Runge 
1997 – 98 Dan Shadoin 
1998 – 99 Dan Shadoin 
1999 – 00 Joe Lohrman 
2000 – 01 Geoff Easton 
2001 –02 Carlos Sandoval, Ben Royal 
2002 – 03 Ben Royal 
2003 – 04 Jeremiah Vondra 
2004 – 05 Cody Vance 
2005 – 06 John R. Lothrop 
2006 – 07 Susan Chrastil 
2007 – 08 Jim Johnson 
2008 – 09 Alec Engebretson 
2009 – 10 Chris Duntz 
2010 – 11 Eric Nagel
2011 – 12 Jim Johnson
2012 – 13 Geoff Easton
2013 – 14 Tom Parker
2014 - 15 Bret Schroder
2015 - 16 John Lothrop
2016 - 17 Jim Fahrnbruch