District 5010 History

Rotary International

District 5010 was created on July 1, 1991 as a result of renumbering of Districts by Rotary International. District 501 had been created on July 1, 1987 and developed from a realignment of clubs in District 503, separating Alaska and the Yukon Territory, Canada, with 27 clubs total. 
Prior to that time, Alaska and the Yukon Territory had been in District 503 which itself was created on July 1, 1973 from a realignment of clubs then existing in District 502 and 504, and consisted of 36 clubs and 2,651 members located in King County, part of Snohomish County, and in Alaska and the Yukon Territory. It grew to be one of the largest districts in Rotary International. 

When the first Alaska club was formed in Ketchikan in 1925, District 1 included Alaska, Northwestern Washington, and British Columbia. The District number was changed to 102 in 1937, then to 101 in 1938, then to 151 in 1949, then to 152 in 1955, and District 502 in 1956. When Rotary International was founded in 1910, the first Vice President was Robert Roy Denny of Seattle. Warren E. Kraft was first Vice President in 1962-63 and served on at least six international committees as well as on other assignments. In 1981 he served for the forty-sixth time as Personal Representative of the President of Rotary International to a District Conference. 

Ernie Skeel was one of the early leaders in the district, and much of the early Constitution and By- Laws of Rotary International were written by him. He was also responsible for the wording of the Ideals of Service. The first District Conference of Rotary International was held in Tacoma in 1914 under District Governor Claude Eckhart, and his administration established much of the procedures still used at district conferences. The Rotary International Convention was held in Seattle, June 20- 24, 1932, with 5,182 registered, and again June 6-10, 1954, with 8,015 registered. Early Governors from Alaska included: Ralph Bartholomew, Ketchikan, 1956-57; A. Holmes Johnson, Kodiak, 1962- 63; Hurff Saunders, Juneau, 1966-67; and Lloyd Hines, Anchorage, 1970-71. 

On July 1, 1993, The Rotary International Board of Directors added that part of Russia East of the eastern boundaries of the Komi Republic and the Yekaterinburg/Svevdlovsk and Kurgan Oblasts. During this period, approximately forty-seven new Eastern Russian Rotary Clubs were created and Russian Rotarian, Dr. Vladimir Donskoy, served as District 5010 Governor in 2004-2005. In June 2011, the Rotary International Board of Directors agreed to reorganize District 5010 to create the new Eastern Russia District 2225 effective July 1, 2012.