Alton Godfrey Rotary

08/28/2026

For only the 10th time in its 105 year long history, the Alton -Godfrey Rotary Club is announcing that it will present a SERVICE ABOVE SELF award this Fall.

The 2026 winner is well known Godfrey public servant and volunteer, PAM WHISLER. The award will be presented at a dinner on October the 14*, 2026, to be held at the Lewis and Clark Commons in Godfrey, beginning at 5:00 PM

The award, named after legendary community leader Dr Gordon Moore, incorporates the Rotary watch words, and is presented to a non-Rotarian who exemplifies the spirit of placing service to others over personal gain.

This year's recipient was for many years in the Township and then the first Village Clerk for Godfrey, originally elected in 1992, serving until her retirement from office in 2018. She maintains a busy schedule with the Godfrey Women's Club, Riverbend Growth Association, Pride, Inc, and her twice weekly golf outings, not to mention marshalling at Rolling Hills Golf Course. Pam Whisler has been a dedicated and humble public servant for 50 years. She is a most worthy choice.

Proceeds from the event are used by the Rotary to fund scholarship programs, including the college bound Student of the Year and the Moyer scholarship for students enrolled in industrial career programs at Lewis and Clark Community College.

Tickets are $75.00 a piece , $600.00 for a table of 8 . Tickets are requested to be purchased by October the 4th and can be obtained online at AltonGodfreyrotary.org., or in person at Norton-Rain, Carrolton Bank, or Scheffel Boyle after Sept the 8th. Notes of congratulations to the honoree to be displayed on the event video board are $150.00 and are available on the Rotary site above, or by sending to John Hopkins at [email protected] "

08/18/2026

Monday’s guest speaker was Radiation Oncologist, Dr. James Piephoff, MD. Dr. Piephoff spoke to the club about low dose radiation treatments to reduce pain and inflamation brought on by Osteoarthritis. He comes to us from OSF Healthcare’s Moeller Cancer Center.

08/06/2026

This is a photo of Rotary District 6460 Governor Musonda Kapatamoyo with Samantha Eales who both attended our weekly meeting. Samantha was granted the Rotary District 6460 William J. Menghini International Scholarship https://www.rotarydistrict6460.org/foundation/global-scholars/ She will receive $18,000 to support her studies at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.

Samantha is a 2023 graduate of Alton High School, and she graduated from Murray State in Kentucky in 2026. At the University of Aberdeen she will continue her studies in public health with an emphasis in nutrition.

During College Samantha participated in many service and public policy initiatives. The Alton Godfrey Rotary Club supported her scholarship application and she promises to be an ambassador for Rotary here and in Scotland.

07/14/2026

Monday’s guest speaker was fellow Rotarian, Chuck Norman. He spoke about his family history, how they came to Alton and about how Norman Brothers came to be. He told us some interesting tidbits about how they ran power workers back and forth to the power plant on the river during the floods of 1973 and 1993. Norman Brothers kept the lights on for their community. They also used their barges for the Alton fireworks for many years. I had no idea that the lighted buoys years ago were lit by members of the Norman family by rowing a boat and lighting them by hand. Very interesting presentation.

07/03/2026

Rotarians volunteered their time to help celebrate the 250th birthday of our nation. Pictured are Tim Hinrichs, John Hopkins, Leonard Berg, John Meehan and Antione Williams along with honorary Rotarians: Lady Liberty, Uncle Sam, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln. There was clearly fun had by all, despite the heat. John found his most patriotic shirt, Abraham took a break from standing at Lincoln Douglas Square to meet and greet with his public and Thomas Jefferson was signing autographs. John Hopkins came up with a nifty idea to hand out miniature booklet copies of The Declaration of Independence - donated by the club - and if you had it signed by Thomas Jefferson, you got a crisp $2 bill. Who's face is on the $2 bill? Why, Thomas Jefferson's of course. Thanks for coming out everybody!

06/30/2026

Last night we enjoyed a lovely meal and fellowship as we installed the new officers for our 2026-2027 year and honored two new Paul Harris Fellows Lee McRaven and Brad King. Looking forward to an awesome year of service to the community!

06/24/2026

06/24/2026

New signage greets passersby of Lincoln-Douglas Square

While Lincoln-Douglas Square in Alton has stood as a historical landmark in Alton for decades, it has not been readily apparent to thousands of motorists passing through the Landmarks/Piasa/Broadway intersection. But thanks to the efforts of the Alton-Godfrey Rotary Club, it is now hard to miss the significance of the site.

New signage has been placed on the western side of Lincoln-Douglas Square, which is essentially the back side of the historical site which commemorates the 1858 debate between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas in their contest for the U.S. Senate, a seat to which Douglas was elected, two years prior to Lincoln being elected President of the United States.

The new sign became possible after Rotary worked with the City of Alton to pour a concrete base for the Community Christmas Tree which is erected annually at the site by the Rotary Club. Once the new pad was in place, it became obvious that the face of the platform made a perfect canvas for new signage.

Bill Moyer, who chaired Rotary’s Lincoln-Douglas committee in the early 90’s, reached out to fellow Rotarian Craig Schaaf, who’s company, Elias Kallal and Schaaf Funeral Homes, has a memorial sales division with experience in engraving. “Craig supplied the expertise and the artisan to engrave the classic-styled signage into the concrete facing of the pad,” said Moyer. “It really helps identify the site for those passing through that busy traffic corridor.”

The Alton-Godfrey Rotary Club has a long history with the square. It conducted the fund-raising efforts for the 1994 renovation of the square, which included the casting of life-sized statues of Lincoln and Douglas. The sculpting of the statues was commissioned by Alton-Godfrey Rotary and created by Jerry McKenna of Boerne, TX, a world-renowned sculptor. Memorial bricks and stones on the plaza of the site commemorate those who contributed to the renovation of the square.

On October 15, 1994, the newly renovated site played host to a re-enactment of the debate, commemorating the 136th anniversary of the seventh and final Lincoln-Douglas debate. The re-enactment featured local actors as Lincoln and Douglas as well as other historical figures and was broadcast on C-SPAN, as had been the re-enactments of the previous six debates throughout Illinois.

After the re-dedication of the square more than three decades ago, Rotary has served as a steward of the site, adding lighting enhancements and landscaping over the years. In addition, Rotary purchased and erects and disassembles the Community Christmas Tree that adorns the site each holiday season.

The Alton-Godfrey Rotary Club was chartered by Rotary International on March 1, 1921. Since that time the club has served the Alton and Godfrey communities for over a century by exhibiting Rotary's motto of “Service Above Self.” Many notable projects have been completed over the years, including a picnic pavilion at Haskell Park, the Steamboat Mural at Broadway and Henry Streets, the statues of Lincoln and Douglas at Lincoln-Douglas Square, the Wadlow Statue, numerous fountains including the current fountain at State House Circle, a Habitat for Humanity House, the community Christmas tree at Broadway and Landmarks, and Alton-Godfrey Centennial Rotary Park at Third and Easton Streets in Alton.

Those interested in learning more about the Alton-Godfrey Rotary Club may visit the club's website at www.altongodfreyrotary.org. The club meets Monday evenings at 6 p.m. at the meeting room at Gentelin's Restaurant on Broadway in Alton. Visitors are welcome.

06/23/2026

Last nights program was on the New Madrid earthquakes between 1811 and 1812. According to Bill there were a total of 2003 earthquakes during that period causing devastation, deaths and even caused the Mississippi River to flow backwards for two days. A few of the quakes were so strong they rang church bells in Charleston. New Madrid felt aftershocks for the next 10 years.

06/23/2026

Rotary was a major donor to the National Memorial of Military Ascent in Grafton, IL. Our club was well represented as several of our members attended the dedication. Our own Art Williams even had the opportunity to cut the ribbon.