Dedicated to service, leadership, and making a difference in our community. The first organizational meeting of the Rotary Club of Vicksburg was held December 4, 1917 in the Old Carroll Hotel, now site of the Trustmark National Bank parking lot. The Vicksburg group was joined by Rotarians from Jackson and Meridian. Robertson, who had moved here from Meridian where he had been a member of that club, a claim agent for the A&V Railroad, was the guiding hand. On the day the group gathered to discuss the organization of the club, headlines in the Vicksburg Evening Post read "President Woodrow Wilson urges declare war against Austria-Hungary", J.J. Hayes was Mayor of Vicksburg, and Theodore Bilbo was Governor of our state. Our Club was chartered on December 10, 1917, the same day as our state celebrated its Centennial Celebration, and the same year as Hinds Jr. College was established. There were 51 original members of our club. Our Club was admitted to Rotary International on January 16, 1918, becoming the third club in Mississippi. Originally we were part of a District comprised of AK, LA and MS. We were a part of that, and others including some Louisiana clubs, until 1957, when our MS District 6280 was created. The club has been served by only ten secretaries. Edley Jones, Jr. served for close to 60 years. His dad served before him for 20 years. Our Club has provided two District Governors, Dr. Leon Lippencott in 1929, and H.V. Cooper in 1937. We have sponsored five other clubs: Lake Providence, Newellton, Rolling Fork, Yazoo City, and Tallulah. We joined with Newellton in sponsoring the St. Joseph Club.
