Serving since 1967.
The club was founded on June 9, 1967 by the Jackson, Tenn. Rotary Club. and today still has three of its founding members – Bob Overall, Joe Naifeh and Joe Swaim.
Charter members say the club was formed because, at age 35, they'd aged out of Jaycees and wanted to remain active in a civic organization.
Other founding members included Jerry DuPriest, L.D. Elliston, Bill McCullough, Landon Yarbrough, Lowell Council, David Eason, Sam Fee, Rodgers Fisher, Charles Kennon, Hickman Pope, Hal Roe, Bob Ronk, Tom Shelby, Gene Shelton, Ashley Tanner, J.T. Walker, Gordon Wakefield, Julian Whitley Jr., Marshall Williams, and George T.B. Williamson.
Former presidents
Bob Ronk was the club's first president, followed by Charles Kennon, Ashley Tanner, Hal Roe, E.E. McDaniel, Walter Whitley, Jimmy Naifeh, Joe Swaim, John Gulley, Robert Sanford, Roger Kishman, Joe Naifeh, Bob Overall, Tim Sloan, Jack Harris, Ray Newbill, Billy K. Wilson, George Williamson, Jim Robbins, Rick Tankersley, Arne Ohgren, Tony Vinson, Dr. Jesse Cannon, Sam Stitt, Jerry DuPriest, Bill McCullough, Glenn Baker, Carol Daniel, Bob Coulston, Elizabeth Ziarko, Lois Atkins, James Bryant, S. Ray Jones, Jane Moorer, Cathy Baskin, Thomas Taylor, Marty Hughes, Sheila Barton, Glenn Baker, Rebecca Spray, Scott Hurst, Johnna Burton, Greg Williams, Clay Crockett, Skipper Bondurant, Jeff Hunter, Mitch Carver, David Duncan, Glenn Baker for two more terms, Joseph Mack and Mark Heaston.
Echo Day will service as president for the 2019-20 year with Katie Patterson as vice-president and treasurer, Lauren Fletcher as secretary and Winston Howard as sergeant-at-arms.
What does the club do?
Since 1967, the club has been very active in helping to eradicate polio, through the Polio Plus campaign, and has been active in the community, starting the Tipton County Handicap Center (organized by Roger Kishman), hosting the county's first 5K fundraiser, providing scholarships to local high school students and dictionaries to third graders, donating bicycles to students in need, starting soccer fields on Mueller Brass Road which later became the softball complex, hosting bluegrass concerts at Covington High School, adopting the Boys and Girls Club of the Hatchie River Region as a major project in the non-profit's infancy, and supporting other local non-profit organizations.
We are making it our mission to serve our community through focusing on promoting basic education and literacy and supporting economic and community development through our Reading with Rotary and Dress for Success programs. Covington Rotary adopted Shelton Park in 2017 and has monthly cleanups from April to October.
Find out more about what we do.
Who are our members?
The Covington Rotary Club also paved the way for accepting minorities and women members and currently has 25 active members in various businesses and industries, from attorneys to insurance salespeople, public servants, public safety and public works personnel, educators, members of the media, parks and recreation personnel, human resources, bankers, and several retired business people.
Covington rotarians use the four-way test to guide the things they think, say and do: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned? Club members live by their motto – "they profit most who serves best" – to help carry out the "Service above Self" mission.