Renewed Purpose and Club Extension
In 1960, our Club sponsored its second club, the Rotary Club of Crestwood-Sunset Hills. It was during that same Rotary year that the district number changed to 605. In 1969, the Club sponsored the Rotary Club of Southwest St. Louis County.
In the 1970s, a new phase of emphasis arose for Clubs to encourage their members to make individual contributions to The Rotary Foundation (TRF). This emphasis has carried through to today, focusing on awarding Paul Harris Fellowship memberships, a distinctive honor and a worthy purpose. Contributions to TRF endowment fund are also encouraged, and those pledging through an estate plan are recognized as Foundation Benefactors. TRF is a not-for-profit corporation that supports the efforts of Rotary International to achieve world understanding and peace through humanitarian, educational, and cultural exchange programs.
In 1989, the Club sponsored its fourth club, the Rotary Club of Mid-St. Louis County; about the same time, the district's number evolved again to 6050, representing the northeast quadrant of Missouri .
In anticipation of the Club's seventy-fifth anniversary, past Past President and Past District Governor Alan Hoener proposed that the Club sponsor a club in Russia; with the approval of the Club's board of directors, Alan and Steve LaBarge carried the project forward. In May 1998, the Club sponsored its fifth Rotary club and its first abroad: The Rotary Club of Aginskoye, Siberia, located in a multi-ethnic region about one hundred miles north of the Russia-Mongolia border.
Sadly, Alan Hoener died in June 1997 while attending the RI Convention in Scotland. After completing Alan's work with the chartering ceremonies of the club in Russia, the Club decided to create a memorial garden in his honor. Twenty-five Webster Rotarians assembled in November 1998 to plant and mulch The Alan Hoener Memorial Garden with 9 trees, 89 shrubs, and 300 day lilies. The garden is nestled along the south wall of the Recreational Complex at Webster Memorial Park near the entrance to the Aquatic Center. Ever since the formal dedication in June 1999, Club members have continued to assist the Webster Groves Parks Department in maintaining the garden.
A major restructuring of the Missouri Rotary Districts took place in 2000, when the state's four districts became three. District 6050 was revoked, to be replaced by our new District 6060, which covers the east edge of the state, from Hannibal to the "boot heel"; District 6060 currently contains 48 clubs and approximately 1,800 Rotarians.