What is Rotary?

From Getting Started in Rotary:

Rotary is an organization of business and professional persons united worldwide who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world. This is exemplified in our mottoes, 'Service Above Self' and 'He Profits Most Who Serves Best.'

Founded

Rotary was founded by Paul Harris on 23rd February 1905, in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A, with a view to promoting fellowship amongst business acquaintances. The photo below shows the founding members, from left to right, Silvester Schiele, Paul P. Harris, Hiram E. Storey, and Gustavus E. Loehr.

Rotary's Founding Members

Rotary Today

Over the years, the object of Rotary has been refined. While it started out as being solely about fellowship, the current object of Rotary is now defined as being:

to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and foster:
  1. The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service;
  2. High ethical standards in business and profession; the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations; and the dignifying of each Rotarian's occupation as an opportunity to serve society.
  3. The application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian's personal, business, and community life;
  4. The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.

Membership

Members of Rotary are:

adults of good character and reputation who are, or were prior to retirement, proprietors, partners, corporate officers, managers, executives, or leaders of a business or profession.

Each Club meets weekly, at a time and place of its choosing, to conduct its business and to fellowship.

 

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Last changed: 03:09:01 04-10-2008