The Rotary Club’s annual ball and fundraiser was Saturday evening at the Speir-Brogdon building and, while Rotarians agreed the ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’ event was a huge success, the purpose of it serves as a benefit to the whole community.

Funds raised from the evening will now be used toward a number of scholarships, international organizations and community groups throughout the year.

"The fundraiser is how we provide the money to all the events that go on in the community, including the scholarships. It’s our one-time source of funding for all those programs," Rotary President Robbie King said. "We put an average of about $25,000 to $30,000 back into the community each year."

King said they still have to tally up the funds from this year’s event before estimating what was raised.

Each year, the Rotary supports the Jay D. Gardner fund, which offers $4,000 in annual scholarships; the Mary Bean fund, which offers a $1,000 scholarship for study at Savannah Tech; the Georgia Rotary Student Program for an international student to study at AASU; international programs such as Alzheimer’s research, polio education, and wells and stoves in third world countries; and community groups such as the Richmond Hill YMCA.