Orrville Exchange Club marks 100 years of service
The Orrville Exchange Club had 65 members, spouses and guests attend the club's 100th anniversary celebration in September, which was held at The White Oaks.
Think about what a 100th anniversary of any organization means. Without looking too deep into things, a basic truth exists: That organization has outlived everybody who has ever been a part of it or will.
This year is the 100th anniversary of the Orrville Exchange Club. The club was started during the Coolidge administration. It has been around as long as IBM, the BBC and four more years than broadcast television.
“To me it’s a reflection of the commitment that the Orrville community itself has and the businesses in those communities supporting the community’s efforts,” Exchange Club President Scott Gold said of things that have allowed the club to endure. “I think the fact that we’ve been around this long is really just a feather in the cap of the community as a whole, that people are willing to get involved in an organization and support that nonprofit goal.”
For the past several decades, that goal has included giving scholarships to Orrville High School seniors. For the last fewer years, those scholarships have been valued at $5,000 apiece.
The club also oversees the annual Field of Honor flag display in the field adjacent to the Crown Hill Road fire station, honoring Veterans Day and first responders by flying 140 flags with the help of community sponsorship. The flag program has been in place for the past eight years.
“Knowing what the club members have done over the years to be able to, for example, raise funds for the scholarship program has been a big-time commitment for them,” Gold said. “One of the big fundraisers they did was to work at one of the food trucks at the Wayne County Fair. That was a big commitment to do that. More recently, the work that’s gone into the lottery program we do and the bingo night, it takes a lot of commitments from a lot of people.”
Gold said among things the organization might look to do in the future as it heads into century No. 2 is enhance the scholarship program. Right now one boy and one girl are awarded scholarships each year. He envisions a time when more scholarships can be made available, but there’s no timeline for that.
“What we’re looking to do is to continue and improve on, in particular, the scholarship program that we’ve had for a number of years for the Orrville High School students,” he said. “That’s sort of our keystone project and has been for a while. We’d certainly like to be able to offer larger scholarships and to more students.”
Other things the Exchange Club has been involved in are grants to help those in need such as people left in dire straits after natural disasters, helping the Boys and Girls Clubs, and just about anything that can make a difference when needs arise.
Exchange Clubs exist throughout the country, more than 600 in all, and have since 1911, just a little longer than Orrville’s branch. The national project of the club is to prevent child abuse. The clubs boast more than 16,000 members nationwide.
Gold said he didn’t know how Orrville’s version wound up doing scholarships as its chief focus but is glad the group has been able to help nearly 100 OHS graduates defray their college costs. He also gave a hat-tip to those who came before him for setting such high standards.
“I’m humbled to be given the opportunity to follow in the steps of so many great people who have been a part of the Exchange Club and a part of history in Orrville,” Gold said. “Just the opportunity to be able to follow in their footsteps and carry on their legacy is very humbling, and I’m glad to be able to be a part of it.”
One of those people is Rob Webner, whose name is immortalized on the side of the Exchange Club Pavilion at Orr Park, the construction of which the club was responsible for. He was a longtime member in the club.
“It means a lot to have those things recognized and remembered,” Exchange Club secretary Darlene Morrison said. “We’re very proud of it. It’s a community organization that’s 100 years old, and we’ve done a lot for our community. It’s real special. It’s very well supported. People support us because it’s a civic organization that’s meant a lot to our community. I’ve been in it 23 years.”
The question now: Does the club have another 100 years in it? Gold and Morrison believe so. The Exchange Club is entrenched in the city, and plenty of people are familiar with what it does, if not active.
“I would say so, yes,” Gold said of the Exchange Club continuing strongly. “We have a lot of people who are willing to take time out of their own personal time, away from home, and work to invest their time to being involved in things the Exchange Club does to support the community.”
Morrison said the future depends on today’s young people, some of whom may not even be aware yet that the club exists. Reminded that just about everyone who has come through the club was young once during its existence, Morrison said she feels confident things will continue as they have been.
With that in mind, she said continuing to work to create awareness has to be a chief goal. The club didn’t start organically and likely won’t continue that way. The membership has to work on the club as much as for it.
“People step up,” Morrison said. “I hope they continue to do so. The younger generation, it’s hard for them to understand the volunteer work and the volume of it that’s needed in the community. I hope they step up and do what we’re doing. I hope it keeps going.”