BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer
EAST BRUNSWICK — In celebrating its 100th anniversary, the Rotary Club has done something it’s very accustomed to doing –– giving to others.
The South River-East Brunswick Rotary Club yesterday held a dedication ceremony for the peace pole it donated to East Brunswick. The pole is located near the gazebo by the municipal pond and bears the saying “May peace prevail on Earth,” written in 12 languages, according to Joseph Xerri, past president and current board member with the club.
The ceremony was attended by Mayor William Neary and other dignitaries. The pole celebrates East Brunswick’s diversity by having the peace slogan written in the 12 most common languages spoken in East Brunswick, Xerri said.
The Rotary Club did research to determine the most common languages in East Brunswick. They are, in order: English, Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Italian, Korean, Hindi, Hungarian, Tagalog, Gujarati and Polish.
The slogans are written on inscription plates.
The South River-East Brunswick Rotary Club is also donating poles to South River and Spotswood, Xerri said.
The three poles cost the club $2,400. Xerri said the club bought stones for the pole bases, which also cost several hundred dollars.
Spotswood’s peace pole will go in the grassy area between the borough’s municipal building and Spotswood High School. That pole will also contain the 12 most common languages in Spotswood, which in order are: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Arabic, Hungarian, German, Chinese, Polish, Greek, Gujarati and Tagalog.
The pole was installed on Monday so that any potential problems would be resolved by yesterday’s ceremony. Township public works employees planted the pole for the Rotary Club.
In addition to the dignitaries, there were also a number of Rotary Club members at the dedication, as well as senior citizens, he said.
Xerri said the pole is meant to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the international Rotary Club. The South River-East Brunswick group also recently celebrated its 75th anniversary. The local group was formed in 1930 in South River.
“We wanted something that is long-lasting,” Xerri said of the pole and anniversaries. “We have done a lot of projects that did not leave something. This will be a longer-lasting celebration of the Rotary’s 100th anniversary.”
The Rotary Club is an organization of business and professional people — including more than 1.2 million worldwide — who provide humanitarian service and encourage high ethical standards in all vocations. The group also works to bring goodwill and peace throughout the world.