In the summer of 2002, Sun Lakes Rotarian Dwight Grotewold visited the Rotary Club of Logan, Utah, where he learned about their innovative elementary school initiative known as “A Dictionary for 3rd Graders.” Drawing on his experience as a former K-12 teacher and his recent retirement as Vice President of Admissions for the University of Colorado, Dwight championed the idea and presented it to the Rotary Club of Sun Lakes (RCSL) board and its members. The proposal was approved for implementation during the Rotary year 2003-04.

Following the board’s approval, fundraising efforts for the “Sun Lakes Rotary 3rd Grade Dictionary Project” began immediately. In its inaugural year, the club successfully distributed over 5,000 dictionaries to third-grade students across the Chandler Unified School District, private schools, the Gilbert Unified School District, and Title 9 programs. This significant accomplishment was made possible through the dedicated efforts of four RCSL members—Bill Giessing, Bonnie Whiting, Gary Whiting, and Roger Edmonds—who have participated in the project every school year for 22 consecutive years.

Members of Sun Lakes Rotary and other supporters believed that the dictionary project would empower students to become better spellers, readers, thinkers, and speakers. Teachers have consistently been the primary champions of this initiative, regularly using the dictionaries for classroom projects as well as take-home assignments, further enhancing students’ educational experiences.