John S. Banks

John Sherer Banks was a young Savannah businessman who owned a piano shop and served as Chatham County Road Commissioner when he became interested in Rotary and its motto, "service above self." On January 5th and 12th of 1914, he, his friend Henry Ludeman, and several piano business partners organized the Rotary Club of Savannah and attracted forty-two charter members. Banks was elected the club's first president, went on to organize the Rotary Club of Augusta and other South Georgia clubs, and launched Savannah's first Rotary community service projects, including building the road to Tybee and support for the Bethesda home for boys, before his untimely death in 1915.

Savannah, Georgia · United States