The Telluride Rotary Club

Chartered in 1945 with the Club motto Sine Regula ("no rules").

In 1978 the Telluride Rotary Club founded the Telluride Medical Clinic: collected donations, obtained a Boettcher Foundation grant, arranged the present site lease, built the Clinic, and then turned operation over to a Community Board. In 1979 the Club initiated and coordinated a fact-finding tour to Zermatt, Switzerland, to study the resort and bring back valuable information and insight for Telluride regional development. Always on the leading edge, in 1989 our first female member, Judi, was elected our President - coincidentally the same year Rotary International formally allowed women membership. Judi is still a member.

The Rotary Club of Telluride is the founding sponsor of the local Scouts. Recent Service Projects include $10,000 toward the 1997 construction of the Telluride Ski and Snowboard Clubhouse, in 2002 $5,000 to study reopening the nearby Norwood OA Graeger Scout Camp, in 2003, in partnership with the Telluride Elks, equipping the Canyon Shelter kitchen renovation, and in 2004 raising a record $21,000 for adaptive skiing while hosting the International Skiing Fellowship of Rotarians.

Recent Rotary projects include providing CPR/AED training for middle and high school students, administration of the Home Safe program, and support for Habitat for Humanity. We keep a very active Youth Exchange Program, an Interact Club at Telluride High school, which raises money for worthy causes every year.

Every year in March, we present the Wells Fargo Red Ball Express; in June, the Coke Booth at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival; in July, the Telluride 4x4 Tour, and in September we host the annual Golf outing - all lucrative and great fun. These fundraisers provide over $40,000 annually, mostly for local student college and vocational scholarships plus local youth organizations and international youth exchanges. In addition, we support educational teacher grants, worthy community projects and services such as Scouts, Pinhead Interns, Telluride Museum, Angel Baskets, Dictionaries for 3rd Graders in Telluride + Mountain Village + Norwood + Naturita, Literacy programs, RI Eradication of Polio Worldwide, and individual member contributions to the Rotary Foundation.

Our Club membership is about 50 with many visiting Rotarians stopping by our weekly meetings to hear our outstanding speakers, chat, and meet new friends. We meet every Wednesday noon at the New Sheridan Hotel for an hour. Visitors are welcome, whether Rotarian or not. We typically take a hiatus in our meetings from April through mid May and mid October through late November.