The Rotary Club of Paradise was sponsored in April of 1946 by the Chico Rotary Club, and was initially an evening club. Officers were elected at large and not from the Board of Directors. The first President was Howard S. Clewett, a local judge. At the end of the first year, there were twenty-nine members, and by the end of the second year, membership had grown to forty-one.

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The name “PINE CONE” was assigned to the Paradise Rotary bulletin in the founding year and was only recently changed when it was renamed the "E-Cone" due to its electronic distribution.

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Like most Rotary Clubs, Paradise Rotary is devoted to community services, including those that focus on youth, health, and general welfare. The early club activities involved donations to both Boy and Girl Scout troops, Campfire Girls, 4-H clubs, Paradise Little League, plus providing scholarships to deserving high school and college students. The Paradise High student body president was permanently elected as an honorary member of the club and was invited to all the meetings.

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In 1956, just ten years after the Charter, the club changed from meeting in the evening to meeting at noon.

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In 1968 the club held it’s first annual “World’s Largest Garage Sale."

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In 1980, the club made available $200 for an Emergency Fund for our Foreign Exchange Students and authorized $40 per month for spending money. We also authorized money to be given to host families for clothes, food, etc., to help defray the cost of the exchange student living with them.

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Also in 1980, we hired an assistant secretary (Susie Prater) who was with us until 1991.

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Along the way the club has made substantial donations to the community, such as $4500 to the Paradise Park and Recreation Department, for the Building of Rotary Grove, $1000 to the Feather River Hospital Building Fund, plus $200 per month for five years, Money to light the tennis courts at Paradise High School, Senior Citizens Building Fund,  Auditorium Building Fund, Hospice of the Ridge, Meals on Wheels, Paradise Symphony Society, Paul Byrne Park, Jaws of Life, Bille Park, High School Lab Equipment, Mule Rotary Free Clinic, Drug Awareness Program and many others.

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The Club members have donated individually over $245,000 to the Rotary Foundation and annually pledge thousands to continue the local and international project Rotarians take on.

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