Rotary International was organized as the International Association of Rotary Clubs February 25, 1905 in Chicago by founder Paul Harris.

Only 11 years later, the Rotary Club of Lake Charles was formed by the sponsoring Rotary Club of Beaumont, Texas on May 11, 1916 as Club #229, the third club in the state and the first in what is now Rotary District 6200. District 6200 extends from Sulphur and DeQuincy to west, to Grand Isle on the east and includes Lafayette and Baton Rouge for a total of 50 clubs. The Rotary Club of Lake Charles was the first civic club in Southwest Louisiana .

While honoring the past, the club continues to look toward the future for opportunities to serve. At present, the oldest member is 90 with the youngest member being 28. Club membership is approximately 70 strong. Members are diverse in age, gender, and backgrounds, but the ideals of service are the same.

Notable Achievements

• The formation of seven other Rotary clubs in the area: Jennings , Vinton, Welsh, Sulphur , Lake Charles East, Westlake , and Greater Lake Charles.
  
• Establishing a need with the Chamber of Commerce for a deep water port.
  
• Organizing Lake Charles Junior College , a two year institution that became McNeese State University .
  
• Helping organize the Southwest Louisiana Fat Stock Show and Rodeo.
  
• Organized and sponsored the first Boy Scout troop in this area, Troop 1. Troop 1 had the first president of the Calcasieu Area Boy Scouts of America.
  
• Planted trees in the Charpentier District and pines at the Country Club.
  
• Sponsored the first crippled children's clinic.
  
• Pioneered the establishment of Boys Village .
  
• Led in the establishment of the SOWELA Tech Foundation with Lake Charles Rotary Club Board of Directors.
  
• Led the community in collecting funds for the Salvation Army and furnished much of the leadership of the United Way Board.
  
• Memorial rooms in local hospitals
  
• Scholarships to SOWELA
  
• Rotary Foundation grants awarded to deserving area needs such as the Kid Med Clinic readers program
  
• Support of the Barbe Interact Club (the high school equivalent of Rotary).

• Sponsors a Clean Up team which regularly maintains a length of Common Street downtown.
  
• Sponsors an annual Literacy Recognition Day which recognizes students and tutors selected by the Literacy Council of Southwest Louisiana.
  
• Sponsors the annual City Employee Recognition Day and Parish Employee Recognition Day where outstanding workers are awarded the Club's Employee Excellence Award.
  
• Presents a Service Above Self certificate to a graduating senior from each of the six area high schools who best exemplifies the ideal of service. One student from the six is selected to receive an additional scholarship.
  
• Annually awards a McNeese student with a scholarship.
  
• Ambassadorial Scholarship (more valuable than the Rhodes Scholarship) has gone to two nominees of this club.
  
• Cappozzoli Engineering Scholarship has gone to two McNeese students.
  
• Club member Joe D. Hill selected as District Governor for the 2000-2001 Rotary Year.