Rotary International is a worldwide fellowship of business and professional people united in the ideal of service. It is acknowledged as the world's first service organization. Rotary has more than 25,000 clubs with a membership of over 1 million men and women in more than 170 countries and geographical areas.
Rotary does not make any claim to be a philosophy of life. However through its commitment to service and international understanding it provides a channel in which a persons desire to serve - a desire inherent in all civilized philosophies and religions - may find expression and opportunity.
The spirit of Rotary, which has attracted so many people of different races, cultures and faiths, have been simply but eloquently stated in "The Object of Rotary".
Rotarians are encouraged to serve individually, and as members of their clubs, through their vocations and by the application of service to their personal, business, and community lives in the context of Rotary.
Each Rotary club is normally composed of not more than a single representative from each type of business or profession within the local community. The club meets weekly and each member is expected to attend meetings regularly. Members have the right to visit other Rotary clubs in any country and are received with warmth and friendship.
Rotary draws its membership from men and women of managerial or executive responsibility who are in a position to influence the conduct of their particular profession or business. In this way Rotary tries to achieve in each club a cross section of the local business and professional community. In choosing one representative from each classification among the available vocations it requires them to not only represent the classification in Rotary but to also represent Rotary in their vocations.
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Like many other worldwide institutions, Rotary came into existence almost by accident. Its founder Paul P. Harris was reared in Wallington, Vermont, New England. Coming to Chicago as a young lawyer, he felt the isolation of a stranger in a great city. Then the idea came to him that a few businessmen of different trades might be brought together at regular intervals for fellowship. The first meeting of these four founder-members took place on February 23, 1905. Rotary was conceived on this basis of fellowship among business and professional men. These pioneers met regularly at each others' place of business by rota, hence rotating. So the name Rotary.
In its early days the members of the new Rotary helped each other in business. The single classification rule by which the club did not contain business competitors militated mutual advantage. It was not long before the idea of service instilled itself in the minds of the new Rotarians. The first club, the Rotary Club of Chicago, came formally into existence in 1905 and within its first year performed its first act of community service.
Three years passed before a second club was formed in San Francisco in 1908. This was quickly followed by clubs in Oakland, Seattle, New York, Boston and other cities, and by 1910 the first clubs formed an association, the National Association of Rotary Clubs in America, 14 of which met in convention in Chicago where Paul Harris was elected President and Chesley R. Perry elected Secretary. If Paul Harris was the architect of Rotary, Ches Perry, as its first professional secretary, was to be its builder.
In 1910 Rotary spread beyond the United States to Winnipeg in Canada, and in 1911 it crossed the Atlantic to Dublin, London and Belfast. During 1912 the National Association changed its title to the International Association of Rotary Clubs (IARC). At the second convention in 1911 Rotarians adopted a statement of Rotary's principles and aims:
"The Rotary Club demands fair dealings, honest methods and high standards in business. No obligation, actual or implied, to influence business exists in Rotary. Election to membership therein is an expression of confidence of the club in the member elected, and of its goodwill towards him. As his business is an expression of himself, he is expected actively to represent it. Membership in the Rotary club is a privilege and an opportunity, and its responsibility demands honest and efficient service and thoughtfulness for one's fellow".
Extracted from "Welcome to Rotary © R.I.B.I."
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© The Rotary Club of Sandy 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003.
Last updated 09 June, 2003
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