The Value of being a Rotarian
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• Rotary is a dynamic worldwide organization consisting of over 1,219,500 members in 31,936 Rotary clubs from 529 Districts in 166 Countries around the world. (data as of June 2004) One must be invited into Rotary and it is a very high honor.

• You are a member of the World’s largest Service organization and the only large civic organization that is growing. It is also one of the oldest celebrated it’s 100 year anniversary on February 23rd, 2005.

• Rotary International is the only organization that could conceive and complete the Polio Plus Program. This multi-organization initiative has a goal to eradicate Polio from the planet earth.

• How would you like to be in an ethical organization that has the following 4-Way-Test which it’s members worldwide adhere to in their every day practice?

  1. Is it the TRUTH?

  2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?

  3. Will it build GOOD WILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?

  4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

  The Enron fiasco would never have happened if they had known and followed Rotary’s 4-Way Test principals of business ethics.
   

• When Serving in another Rotary Country, Rotarians never get involved in any of the following 3 areas.

  1. We don’t take sides in Racial Issues.

  2. We don’t take sides in Religious Issues.

  3. We don’t take sides in Political Issues.

  This allows us to Serve our fellow man and not get involved in the problems that caused many of the reasons we are there to Serve.
   

• The Rotary Foundation (TRF) is funded mainly through the Paul Harris Fellowship programs. It is the arm of Rotary that allows Rotarians to do many good things for mankind. To name a few,

  1. Over 2 Billion children in the world have been inoculated for the polio virus.

  2. Over 200,000 children have been sent on youth exchanges in the world through the efforts of TRF.

  3. 42,000 Group Study Exchange teams have created goodwill traveling overseas through TRF funding.

  4. 34,000+ scholarships for studies overseas have been awarded through TRF.

  5. 13,500 matching grants have been issued to provide humanitarian aid overseas through TRF.

  6. $10 Million in grants for Rotary Volunteers have been awarded since 1979 through TRF.

  7. Over $1.19 Billion dollars have been spent by TRF for its programs.

• District 6110 is one of the top10 Rotary Districts in the Rotary World, or so we are told by many of the Rotary dignitaries that come to visit us. Here are some of the reasons we believe they are right.

  1. Rotary District 6110 Medical Supplies Network, Inc. (MSNI) is a District project started by Jack Maxwell, Rotary Club of Bixby. MSNI consists of two 6,000 sq.ft. warehouses that we own in Tulsa. In the last 9 years, we have shipped 88 sea containers (40 feet long) to 27 different third-world countries. We ship more than one container a month from our facility. Last year we shipped over $1,400,000 in value on a budget of almost $60,000. That is under 5% operating expenses and great by any non-profit standard.

  2. Be Wise Immunize is a program started many years ago by Bill Crews of the Rotary Club of Tusla SouthSide. It concentrated on immunization shots to be given to children of families that couldn’t afford the shots or didn’t have insurance to pay for them.

  3. Up With Trees Sid Patterson of the Rotary Club of Tulsa started this project over 25 years ago. Since then over 400 sites have been planted totaling over 16,000 trees. These plantings beautify the freeways and entrances to our city from the Tulsa Airport as well as all the highways.

  4. Tulsa Area United Way was originally a project of the Rotary Club of Tulsa and later spun out into the organization it is today.

  5. The Organ Donor Awareness project was started by Randall Barron of the Rotary Club of Broken Arrow. Its purpose is to make Rotarians and their families aware of the many people that die each year while waiting for donated organs or tissues. Hundreds of thousands of donor cards have been signed and recorded with Organ Transplant organizations. Several lives have been saved locally because of these efforts.

  6. Henry P. Iba Citizens Athlete Awards Banquet – This was started by Bob Lengacher of the Rotary Club of Tulsa over 10 years ago as a fundraiser. The purpose is to recognize citizen athletes that are positive role models for children. Donations to the male and female athletes of the year’s favorite charities are made and it is a first class black-tie affair. The 2004 banquet had over 1200 guests and raised around $100,000 in profit that was used to augment their clubs foundation, international projects, and their adopted Celia Clinton Elementary School programs.

  7. How about the Tulsa Boys Home and the Children’s Medical Center? They were both started by Rotarians in the Rotary Club of Tulsa.

  8. The Bixby BBQ’n Blues Festival is a project started by Jack Maxwell of the Rotary Club of Bixby. This fundraiser allows their club to contribute to a variety of community service projects. In it’s third year it raised $55,000 in profit, and had over 10,000 guests to enjoy 11 different Blues bands and food from 43 competing BBQ teams in the competition.

  9. The Polio Plus campaign mentioned above was first the idea of Dr. Ben Saltzman of the Rotary Club of Mountain Home, Arkansas in our District. Dr Ben was in the Philippines giving immunizations for Polio and he decided this should be a Rotary initiative on a worldwide basis. He lobbied the RI Board and The Rotary Foundation and finally at the 1985 International Convention in Kansas City, MO the idea was adopted.

  10. The Water Well Drilling project in Nicaragua was started by Bob Scroggs of the Tulsa Rotary Club after a missionary trip to Nicaragua. A truck- mounted drilling rig complete with an air compressor was purchased, refurbished, and shipped to Nicaragua with the help of matching grants from the Rotary Foundation. In February of 2004, 9 wells were drilled in and around the town of Masaya producing an average of 10 gallons per minute.

  11. The Crescendo Music Awards originated with an idea of Joseph Bias of the Rotary Club of Tulsa. With help from Cory Nickerson and Linda Bradshaw it became a reality. In it’s first 6 years over $72,000 in scholarships have been given to young aspiring musicians from high schools and colleges in our 5- state area. In 2004, $20,500 was awarded to contestants in the Piano, Vocal, and Instrumental divisions. Over 400 students have performed in the competition and the program continues to grow each year.

  12. Camp Enterprise was started by Rotary Club of Tulsa member, Jimmy Saied. This program is targeted toward leaders in the Junior Class of High Schools in the Tulsa area. This is a 3-½ day camp featuring ropes course and first class speakers from local businesses. The aim is toward running a business and making a profit using the free enterprise system of America. This project is over 20 years old and many kids have become adults and new Rotarians.

  13. The Will Rogers Gayla was started by the Rotary Club of Will Rogers in Tulsa. This banquet features an annual award to someone who represents the Spirit of Will Rogers. The 2004 recipient is Dr. Jane Goodall for her work in Africa with the conservation of the Chimpanzees.

  14. Rotary Parks were built or refurbished by the Rotary clubs of Springdale and Fort Smith, in Arkansas, and by Muskogee, Miami, and McAlester in Oklahoma.

  (Note from Jack Maxwell) By no means is this document meant to be complete. I have put this together from my 22 years in Rotary mainly in the Tulsa area. There are lots of other Rotary sponsored projects in our District 6110 and I invite you to add them to the list and share them with me. Please email me at Contact Jack Maxwell and I will send this document to you in Word format. You then make it a document you can use in your area by adding the projects I do not know about at this time. Please send me your additions and I will add them to mine and we will have it posted on the District website for all to use at www.ri6110.org.