The original club was chartered on Wednesday, November 30, 1960. Recommended by District Governor Calvin Clyde, Jr., and sponsored by the Rotary Club of Dallas, its chartered name was "The Rotary Club of Carrollton, Texas, U.S.A." Meetings were held weekly at noon, beginning the next day at the Tower Hotel Restaurant, 10108 Harry Hines Boulevard, just north of the Harry Hines circle, in Dallas.

The founding President was Edgar A. Pledger, Jr., Vice President was Jack Blanton, and Jack Ramsay, Jr. and D. E. Spradling were Secretary and Treasurer, respectively. The directors were Bill Proctor, Ray Erickson, Kenneth Moore and the ever-present Carl "Catfish" Montgomery. Included among the programs the first year were Dr. Willis Tate, President of SMU, Jim Barton talking about the Dallas Texans Professional Football Club (Lamar Hunt's AFL Team), and George Coker, Manager of Love Field. In 1966, under President D. E. Spradling, the club made its first scholarship award. Totaling $250, it was presented to R. L. Turner H.S.

The name was not officially changed to "The Rotary Club of Carrollton-Farmers Branch, Texas, U.S.A" until 1975, under President John Prickett. The club met at the Tower for 3 years, until moving in 1963-64, under President Carl Fleming, to Otis Engineering on Beltline in Carrollton. With Robert H. Davis at the helm in 1969-70, the club moved to the new Holiday Inn restaurant on the east side of IH-35E, just north of the Carrollton-Farmers Branch boundary.

President Percy Pentecost, in 1977-78, started the tradition of member Rotarians presenting a three-minute autobiography/vocational talk, and that year, membership in the club went over 100 for the first time.

In 1985-86 and 86-87, under the direction of Presidents Phillip Foote and Gary Carley respectively, the club sponsored two new Rotary Clubs. The first was Farmers Branch, with first president Paul Watten, which met Mondays at noon at the Ramada Inn Restaurant (it became the Best Western Oak Tree Inn in 1989) in Farmers Branch. The second was Carrollton Sunrise, with President Andrew Jurisich, which met at Trinity Medical Center in Carrollton. Bill Innes was the District Governor's Special Representative for establishing the new clubs.

On February 13, 1986, the Rotary Club of Carrollton-Farmers Branch celebrated its 25th Anniversary at Brookhaven Country Club, under the direction of President Phillip Foote.

In January of 1988, while Phillip Hettich was president, the club admitted its first woman member, Patsy Fulton, President of Brookhaven College. Hettich still serves the club as Chair (in Perpetuity) of the club's Past President's Council.

In 1989-90, during Dick Calvert's presidential term, the Carrollton Health Department shuttered the kitchen of the old meeting place. After eating cold catered chicken fried steaks and beans for a couple of months, the meeting place was moved to its present location, the Brookhaven Country Club.

In June 1990, club members Gary Embrey and Bill Innes, at the behest of District 581 (now District 5810) Governor Milton Kessel, went to Taos, New Mexico, to observe first-hand a RYLA Camp (Rotary Youth Leadership Award) in operation. The next June, they, along with Committee Chairman Chris C. Christopher, and a number of members of the Rotary Club of Carrollton-Farmers Branch, including Dana Mackison, founded the District 5810 Camp RYLA program at Lake Bridgeport. Embrey was the first Camp Director, and Innes was the assistant Camp Director and a cabin councilor. Mackison has served all 14 years of the camp's existence as Program Director and Activities Chairman.

In April, 1994, U. S. President George W. Bush spoke to the club, while he was still the managing partner of the Texas Rangers Baseball Club. That was the meeting that President Tom McWhirter discussed with the Secret Service the advisability of displaying a big butcher knife.

Two months later, at the District 5810 Awards Banquet on June 3, the club received the Presidential Citation for Balanced Club Achievement for the 1993-94 Rotary year. This was the second year of the Presidential Citation program, and the first of eight consecutive citations for the club. The club has had two District 5810 Rotarians of the Year, Dana Mackison and Doug Rudman, and four District 5810 Ethics Award winners, David James, PDG Walt Leonard, Keith Vanderburg and Shawn Bhagat.

Doug Rudman became the first president to serve longer than one year, when he replaced Kennedy Quick in January of 1996. He served until June 30, 1997. During his term, the club's Foundation was created, shepherded by 1997-98 president Craig Greenway. During Greenway's year, the club recognized 21 people as Paul Harris Fellows, the record for any year. Theodora A. Barker, for 1998-99, was the first woman president of the club.

On November 30, 2000, the Rotary Club of Carrollton-Farmers Branch celebrated its 40th Anniversary at Brookhaven Country Club at its regular luncheon meeting, under the direction of President Fred Ferguson. Also that year, the club held a "Gala" to honor the retiring Director of the Metrocrest Social Service Center, Robert McMahan. As a social event, over 250 community leaders were present. As a fund raiser, it was a modest success.

Thirty months later, in October of 2003, President Cecil Albrecht and the club held its second "Gala," a tribute to Ebby Halliday Akers. Attended by over 350, it raised four times as much as the first, and the club presented substantial checks to the Cities of Carrollton and Farmers Branch to help in the purchase and installation of park equipment for Special Needs and Mobility-Challenged children.

Presently, 12 of the 42 presidents the club has had since its inception are still active members, and 1982-83 president George Grimmer is an active member of the Rotary Club of Farmers Branch, which he helped found. Still active in today's club are 48 Paul Harris Fellows, and charter member Carl "Catfish" Montgomery, who is an honorary member.

Doug Rudman, President 1995-1997
revised August 4, 2004

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