The convention will mark the 100th Anniversary of the announcement of the Rotary International Foundation made at the RI Convention also held in Atlanta in 1917. The Rotary Club of Atlanta was founded in 1913 and was the first club in the state of Georgia.
Rotary was founded in 1905 and held its first annual convention in 1910. The last convention held in Atlanta was in 1970.
The convention is expected to draw thousands of visitors from more than 150 countries to Atlanta and the Southeast.
The RI Convention is often described as a “mini-United Nations” because of its internationality. Rotary has more than 34,000 clubs in 200 countries and geographic regions. The last RI Convention held in the United States was in 2011 hosted in New Orleans, Louisiana drawing more than 17,400 registrants. The first President of Rotary International from the Rotary Club of Atlanta was Albert S. Adams who held office in 1919-20.