With the way the Rotary Club of Vinings started, one might think it was doomed from the beginning.

The first meeting, in November 1989, was held at Patio by the River, an eatery where Canoe restaurant now sits. A thunderstorm made for a rough start but the organization has lasted two decades.

“At our first dinner, the electricity went off,” said Steve Kerr, a founding member no longer with the club who attended the 20th anniversary luncheon Nov. 18 at the Vinings Club.

Tony Lazzaro, another charter member, added, “We had to finish our meal by candlelight.”

Lazzaro, who hopes to publish a book on the organization’s history by its 25th anniversary, is one of four charter members still with the club today. Jim Johnson, John Collins and Jim Callaham are the others. Seven founding members attended last week’s event.

The club has grown from 37 members, including two women, in the beginning to 75 members this year.

“We were one of the first clubs to have women in the club. Our fourth president was a woman [Nancy Dreisbach],” Lazzaro said. “This is one of my extended families. I love the club … so much and I love everybody in it. There are so many wonderful people here. For the size of our club, we’ve done an outstanding amount of work nationally and internationally.”

The club was chartered Nov. 15, 1989. Collins was with the Sandy Springs club before joining the Vinings one when it formed.

“It kind of filled a void that was in the area,” he said. “We were lucky to get our [club] in the Golden Triangle [business district]. We stole a lot [of members] from other clubs — Sandy Springs, Smyrna and Buckhead.

“I met some of the most wonderful people through the club. We’ve got a lot of doers and not sitters. To have many people participate in so many things is great.”

Jim “Mac” McDougall, a four-year Vinings Rotary member, has been the club president since July.

“It’s a tremendous milestone and like every club, we were fostered by other clubs,” he said of the anniversary. “For a small group, our group was high in activity. We felt it was appropriate to stop and thank other clubs for helping this club and [to thank] our charter members.”

Representatives from area Rotary clubs and the organization’s district attended the event.

Each year the club donates funds to Calvary Children’s Home, a Powder Springs orphanage; Good Samaritan Health Center of Cobb in Marietta; local public schools and Kalifi Kids, a nonprofit aiding children in Kalifi, Kenya. The organization also hands out scholarships to international students at local colleges.

In September the club raised $50,000 for children’s charities at the Rotary Run for Kids.