It is also the 2nd oldest club in the country. Rotary was introduced to Ceylon as it was then known, way back in 1929 and quite correctly they identified the capital of the country to form the 1st Rotary Club, thus the Rotary Club of Colombo was inaugurated on the 5th of July 1929 and received its charter on the 6th of December 1929 at a ceremony held at the Galle Face Hotel, Colombo. Thereafter they searched for important towns in the country and Negombo was identified as one such town for the propagation of Rotary island wide. Due preference and recognition was given to Negombo. The Rotary Club of Negombo came to be sponsored by the Rotary Club of Colombo in the year 1937 and received its charter on the 28th of March in the year 1938. The Rotary Club of Negombo was formed with a membership of 20 members selected from amongst the elite businessmen and professionals in the region. T.W. Hockley who was the Head of Police, the Municipal Commissioner and District Judge had the singular honor of being elected as the charter President of the club and held the office of the President of the club during the Rotary year 1937-38. Over the past 85 years we have been engaged in humanitarian and service oriented work and grew in maturity and strength to be one of the fore most Rotary Clubs in our District. As per the convention, Rotary membership is exclusive to professionals, proprietary planters and businessmen of repute in the area. Respected politicians of the caliber of the Late Honourable Mr Shirley Corea. Former Speaker of the House of Representatives and Parliamentarian Late Mr Paris Perera were Rotarians. Our club is proud to have produced district governor 2020/2021 Rtn. Ajith Weerasinghe. The RC Negombo records a rich heritage of membership where a balanced society was blended with Lawyers, Doctors, Engineers, Architects and Businessmen of repute. Our work has been concentrated in and around Negombo kochchikade Dankotuwa regions where the need for such work has always been necessary, required and also accepted. Though at the initial stages our work extended beyond the boundaries of the North Western Province, we now concentrate in and around the above mentioned regions, due to the growth and extension of Rotary and the formation of new clubs over the recent past. With a strength of 78 members, we maintain the high values and traditions of Rotary, and will continue to render valuable services to the needy and work towards achieving targets and goals set by the Rotary International President and help in building communities and bridging continents.
