March 8, 2021

Image: A film still depicting planes at an air show (SPRA 1974.74.22, Fonds 138: Griff James fonds)

Movie Monday highlights videos from the Archives’ film collection. Every week, an archival film will be featured on our YouTube channel and here on our blog. The Movie Monday project is made possible with the generous funding support of Swan City Rotary Club of Grande Prairie.

Today’s Movie Monday film features two Rotary-related events. The first is an air show that was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Grande Prairie, and the second is a Rotary convention.

The Rotary Club of Grande Prairie was formed in January of 1951, meeting at the York Hotel. For its first fundraiser, the club created and sold calendars that featured the birthdays and anniversaries of community members. The project started in 1963 and lasted until the early 1970’s. In 1973, Rotary assumed responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the city’s campground. And that same year, the club’s Green-a-thon program began, encouraging students to become involved in the community and keep the city clean. These are only a few of the ventures undertaken by the Rotary Club of Grande Prairie in its first decades, and many of the club’s early projects still continue today!

On October 13, 1986, the Swan City Rotary Club was chartered, thanks to the sponsorship of the Rotary Club of Grande Prairie. In turn, the Swan City Rotary Club now funds the Movie Monday project here at the South Peace Regional Archives! Rotary clubs set an excellent example of teamwork, community service, and creating goodwill within their local communities and beyond.

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