About Rotary
The world of Rotary consists of more than 28,736 clubs in 157
countries. The number of clubs ranges from more than 7,300 in
the United States to only one or two in small island nations and
the newer republics of the former Soviet Union. Besides the U.S.,
14 other countries with more than 500 Rotary clubs. In order,
they are Japan, Brazil, the United Kingdom, India, Australia,
France, Korea, Germany, Canada, Argentina, the Philippines, Italy,
Mexico and Sweden.
As of June 30, 1997, there were 1,213,748 Rotarians.
Why Rotary?
The vision of Rotary founder Paul Harris was of a club that would
kindle friendship among members of the Chicago business community.
He wanted to find in the large city the kind of friendly spirit
and helpfulness that he had known in the small towns where he
had grown up -- the spirit to reach out in service to others less
fortunate. Through the subsequent spread of the Rotary movement,
the spirit of friendship and service evolved quite naturally into
a focus on helping to build goodwill and peace in the world.
It was also Harris's thought that the first club should represent
a cross-section of the business and professional life of the
community. From this idea developed Rotary's Classification
Principle. Admission to Rotary club membership is by invitation,
and accepting the invitation represents a personal commitment of
the Rotarian to exemplify high ethical standards in one's own
vocation or occupation.
As the entity representing the global association of all Rotary
clubs, Rotary International's mission is to assist Rotarians and
Rotary clubs to accomplish the Object of Rotary, emphasizing
service activities by individuals and groups that enhance the
quality of life and human dignity, encouraging high ethical
standards, and creating greater understanding among all people
to advance the search for peace in the world.
Classifications
Membership in a Rotary club is by invitation and was based on
the founders' paradigm of choosing one representative of each
business, profession and institution in the community. What is
called the "classification principle" is used to ensure that the
members of a club comprise a cross section of their community's
business and professional life.
A Rotarian's classification describes either the principal business
or professional service of the organization that he or she works
for or the individual Rotarian's own activity within the
organization. The classification is determined by activities or
services to society rather than by the position held by the
particular individual. In other words, if a person is president
of a bank, he or she is not classified as "bank president" but
under the classification "banking." The classification principle
fosters a fellowship for service based on diversity of interest,
and seeks to prevent the predominance in the club of any one
group.
When a person becomes an active member of a Rotary clubs, it is
said that a the member has been "loaned" a classification. He or
she may propose one additional active member in that classification.
On completing five, ten or fifteen years of service, depending
on the individual's age, he or she becomes a "senior active"
member and their classification is released to enable another
person to join the club.
Structure Administration
Rotary is organized at club, district and international levels
to carry out its program of service around the globe. Rotarians
are members of their clubs, and the clubs are members of the
global association known as Rotary International. Each club elects
its own officers and board of directors and enjoys considerable
autonomy within the framework of its constitution and the
constitution and bylaws of Rotary International.
Clubs are grouped into Rotary districts, each led by a district
governor who is an officer of Rotary International and represents
the RI board of directors in the field. During the 1997-98 Rotary
year, there are 521 districts. The number can increase as new
clubs are chartered. A 19-member board of directors, which includes
the international president and president-elect, administers
Rotary International. The board meets quarterly to establish
policies and programs, with input from committees representing
all parts of the Rotary world.
While the Rotary International president is chief executive of
the organization, the active managing officer is the general
secretary who heads a staff of about 450 persons working in one
of nine centers around the world. The international headquarters
is in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois.
Club Structure
Rotary clubs operate under the Standard Rotary Club Constitution,
originally adopted in 1922. It contains the club's name, definition
of its territorial limits, and rules for regular club meetings,
membership, attendance, admission fees and dues. It provides for
a board of directors as the club's governing body and a president
and other officers. Their terms of office -- like those of
international and district officers -- begin on July 1 each year.
Most clubs use the "recommended committee plan" to carry out
service projects and activities. It includes four main committees
corresponding directly to Rotary's Four Avenues of Service. The
club president assigns a director to each avenue to act as
coordinator and supervisor of the work of several subcommittees.
Avenues of Service
The term "Four Avenues of Service" is frequently used in Rotary.
The "Avenues" refer to the four elements of the Object of Rotary:
club service, vocational service, community service and international
service. They describe the primary areas of Rotary activity.
Club service involves all of the activities necessary for Rotarians
to make their club function successfully. Vocational service is
a description of the opportunity each Rotarian has to represent
the dignity and utility of one's own vocation to other members
of the club. Community service pertains to those activities which
Rotarians undertake to improve the quality of life in their
community. It frequently involves assistance to youth, the aged,
the handicapped and others who look to Rotary as a source of hope
for a better life. International service describes the many
programs and activities which Rotarians undertake to advance
international understanding, goodwill and peace. International
service projects are designed to meet humanitarian needs of people
in many lands.
District Structure
The chief officer of a Rotary district is called the district
governor, and each of these 521 men and women is considered an
officer of the international organization. Typically, a district
consists of about 45 Rotary clubs. The governors serve one year,
providing leadership and guidance to help clubs carry out the
Object of Rotary and strengthen the programs of Rotary within
the district. A District Leadership Plan allows for the appointment
of assistant governors to help with this task
The annual district conference, lasting two or three days, is
open to all Rotarians in the district along with their families,
Youth Exchange students, Interactors, Rotaractors, and Group
Study Exchange teams are welcome. The district conference furthers
Rotary's program through a keynote address by a personal
representative of the RI president, group sessions, forums,
exhibits and fellowship. It usually focuses on the current RI
theme. The conference can legislative on matters of concern to
the districts and may consider special matters submitted to it
by the RI Board. It may propose legislation for consideration by
the next triennial Council on Legislation.
Rotary International History
On February 23, 1905, a Chicago lawyer, Paul P. Harris, called
three friends to a meeting. What he had in mind was a club that
would kindle fellowship among members of the business community.
It was an idea that grew from his desire to find within the large
city the kind of friendly spirit that he knew in the villages
where he had grown up. The four businessmen didn't decide then
and there to call themselves a Rotary club, but their get-together
was, in fact, the first meeting of the world's first Rotary club.
As they continued to meet, adding others to the group, they
rotated their meetings among the members' places of business,
hence the name. Soon after the club name was agreed upon, one of
the new members suggested a wagon wheel design as the club emblem.
It was the precursor of the familiar cogwheel emblem now worn by
Rotarians around the world. By the end of 1905, the club had 30
members.
The second Rotary club was formed in 1908 half a continent away
from Chicago in San Francisco, California. It was a much shorter
leap across San Francisco Bay to Oakland, California, where the
third club was formed. Others followed in Seattle, Washington,
Los Angeles, California, and New York City, New York. Rotary
became international in 1910 when a club was formed in Winnipeg,
Manitoba, Canada. By 1921 the organization was represented on
every continent, and the name Rotary International was adopted
in 1922.
Rotary Foundation
What is now The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International grew
from a small endowment fund started in 1917. It became the Rotary
Foundation in 1928 but grew only modestly until 1947 when it
received a number of gifts in memory of Paul Harris upon his
death on Jan. 27 of that year. Accelerated growth in recent years
has made it a major source of activities to provide humanitarian
assistance, to enhance education and promote international
understanding and peace. Since 1917, contributions to the foundation
have totaled $824.3 million including $61.7 million in 1994-95.
A major source of the Foundation's recent growth, and of Rotary's
increasing membership, has been the burgeoning of the Rotary
movement in Asia. Also growing is the number of new Rotary clubs
in countries formerly in the Communist-governed bloc of eastern
Europe. Countries where there were no Rotary clubs in 1987 now
have more than 220.
Among programs that Rotary has undertaken in recent years, the
largest is PolioPlus, whose goal is the eradication of the disease
polio throughout the world. To achieve that goal, Rotary is
working in coalition with the World Health Organization, UNICEF,
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Task
Force for Child Survival and Development, supplying funds for
vaccine purchase and manpower for polio immunization campaigns
in polio-endemic countries. If the disease is eradicated by the
year 2000, the achievement will be certified in time for Rotary
to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its birth in a polio-free
world.
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