Service Above Self

A History of the Bowling Green Rotary Club and the City that Made It All Possible.

A native Kentuckian and life-time resident of Warren County, Dr. Larry Pack is particularly qualified to write what will surely become the definitive and insightful history of the Bowling Green Rotary Club. Educated in the Warren County public schools, the youthful Pack pursued his baccalaureate degree at nearby Western Kentucky State College (now Western Kentucky University) noted for its excellent program in pre-med and pre-dental training. After graduating in 1955 with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology, Pack spent two years on active military duty as an infantry officer, eventually earning the rank of captain in tbe Army Reserve. In 1961, he married the former Peggy Ann Lewis of Bardstown, Kentucky while completing his Doctor of Dental Medicine degree from the University of Louisville. The next year he and Peggy settled in Bowling Green where they raised two children (Stephen Fielding and Julie Drew) and Larry began a forty-year practice of dentistry. Stephen is currently a successful architect in Chicago and Julie is a teacher and the wife of Rotarian Bruce Barrick. The Packs are also the proud grandparents of three promising young men. As a long-time resident of Bowling Green and active member of the Presbyterian Church, Dr. Pack was more than a successful and respected dentist; he was also a community leader and booster. Joining Rotary International in 1987, he became a Paul Harris Fellow and served as club president in 1999-2000. As president his accomplishments were many. He reinstituted both the popular Valentine's dinner-dance and the special recognition of member's birthdays, and he also encouraged the noon Rotary to finance and complete a Habitat for Humanity home in Bowling Green. An avid history buff himself, Dr. Pack, as monthly program chairman for three consecutive years, arranged for a popular series on our nation's outstanding presidents, led by history professors from WKU. As both a proud Rotarian and community leader, Dr. Pack has produced not only a comprehensive study of a local Rotary club but also an interesting account of how its members have enriched a city, a state, and a nation. Robert V. Haynes Professor Emeritus, WKU The Author