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WHAT IS ROTARY?
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Rotary is a dynamic worldwide organization consisting of over 1.3
Million Rotarians in more than 32,000 clubs in over 200 countries
and geographical areas. The object of Rotary is to encourage and
foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and in
particular to encourage and foster
- The development of acquaintances as an opportunity for
service;
- High ethical standards in business and professions; the
recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations, and
dignifying of each Rotarian’s occupation as an opportunity to
service society;
- The application of the ideal of service in each
Rotarian’s personal, business and community life;
- The advancement of international understanding,
goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and
professional persons united in the ideal of service.
Rotary meets weekly. A typical Rotary meeting would include a
meal, introduction of guests, announcements and a short program.
Each member is assigned a classification based on his vocation. You
will have a name badge to wear at meetings and it is usually kept in
a location near the check in.
We stress attendance and below 50% is not acceptable. It is easy
to make-up though with 77 clubs in our own district and 32,000 clubs
worldwide. You can also receive a make-up for working Rotary
sponsored local functions, attending a Club Board Meeting, as well
as attending the Rotary District Conference and/or International
Rotary meetings or programs. You have two weeks before you miss or
two weeks after you miss to make-up.
Rotary consists of its members and clubs. Clubs are in a district
governed by a district governor who serves for one year. An
International President and a Board of Directors govern Rotary
International. Our district is 6110 and is made up of parts of
Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas. We are considered to be in
the top 10 districts in the world based on the furtherance of Rotary
ideas.
Usually clubs work independently of each other on projects. One
project all clubs in our district work together on is the District
6110 Medical Supplies Network Inc (MSNI). This operation is based in
a Tulsa warehouse where we accumulate used medical equipment and
supplies that we ship to less fortunate countries. Over 117
truckloads have been sent out of this warehouse to 32 different
countries since January 1996. Usually one truckload per month is
shipped overseas.
It is not unusual for clubs to have local, district, and/or
international projects. Clubs sometimes work independently or with
district or international partners.
The four avenues of service in Rotary are Club Service, Community
Service, International Service and Vocational Service.
- Club Service – Rotary’s First
Avenue of Service involves actions a Rotarian must take within
the club to help it function successfully. This means having a
good place to meet, good food, good fellowship, fun, and having
good programs and speakers each week.
- Vocational Service – Rotary’s
second Avenue of Service. Its purpose includes promoting high
ethical standards in businesses and professions, recognizing the
worthiness of all occupations, and fostering the ideal of
service in the pursuit of all vocations. The role of the club
includes developing projects that help members contribute their
talents to meeting society’s needs. The role of Rotarians
includes conducting themselves and their businesses in
accordance with Rotary principles and responding to projects
their clubs develop.
- Community Service – Rotary’s
Third Avenue of Service comprises varied efforts Rotarians make,
sometime in conjunction with others to improve the quality of
life for those who live within their club’s locality or
municipality. This is a most critical avenue, for if a club is
not active in the community with projects, it will not grow and
prosper.
- International Service – Rotary’s
fourth Avenue of Service comprises all the things that a
Rotarian can do to advance international understanding, goodwill
and peace by fostering acquaintance with people of other
countries, their cultures, customs, accomplishments,
aspirations, problems – through reading and correspondence, and
through cooperation in all club activities and projects
(including those associated with the Rotary Foundation) designed
to help people in other lands. Our District 6110 Medical
Supplies Network is an example of International Service.
The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International is involved in many
educational and humanitarian projects. The Foundation had assets of
$709.2 million in fiscal year 2006 with revenues of $162.1 million
dollars.
In 1985 Rotary undertook the project of eradicating polio in the
world. Before eradication efforts began in 1988, polio paralyzed
more than1,000 children a day, which totaled about 350,000 children
annually. Over 2 billion children have been given the oral polio
vaccine since 1988. The incidence of polio has declined by more than
99 percent. Rotary International is the spearheading member of the
Global Polio Eradication Initiative and is the largest private
sector donor. It has contributed more than $600 million to the polio
eradication activities in 122 countries. In addition, tens of
thousands of Rotarians have partnered with their national ministries
of health, UNICEF, the World Health Organization, the U.S. centers
for Disease control and Prevention, and with health providers at the
grassroots level in thousands of communities. Today only four
countries remain polio endemic – Nigeria, India, Pakistan, and
Afghanistan.
The Foundation is involved in many educational and humanitarian
programs throughout the world. A few of these are Ambassadorial
Scholarships, Rotary Centers for International Studies, Rotary
Grants for University Teachers, Group Study Exchange, District
Simplified Grants, Individual Grants, Matching Grants (Major and
Minor), Health, Hunger, and Humanity (3H) Grants, Blane Community
Immunizations Grants, PolioPlus, and PolioPlus Partners.
The Rotary Foundation receives its monies from individuals
contributing money to the Rotary Foundation. Those who contribute
$1,000 are eligible to become a Paul Harris Fellow. An individual
may also contribute additional monies and become a multiple Paul
Harris Fellow, a Major Donor, or a member of the Arch Klumpf
Society. Those who wish to provide for a gift in their estate plan
may become Benefactors or Bequests Society members.
Rotary was started in Chicago in 1905 by Paul Harris who got a
group of four businessmen together to meet weekly. Their original
purpose was to refer business to one another, and they rotated the
meetings among their offices to get better acquainted. Hence, they
decided to name it The Rotary Club. Soon, they realized that
business men could not be held together by fellowship alone. They
decided to do an occasional service project in order to attract more
members. From this simple beginning, Rotary has developed into one
of the most dynamic service organizations in the world. As Rotarians
we follow the 4-Way Test in the things we think, say or do.
- Is it the TRUTH?
- Is it FAIR to all concerned?
- Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIP?
- Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
We think you will enjoy Rotary and be proud of the things you
help us accomplish.
Updated June, 2007
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