WELCOME TO ROTARY
The day you join the Rotary Club of Renton, it becomes a new club because your personality, ideas, and participation, give our club a new character and a new collective personality. Our Rotary Club is composed of distinct individuals who, when they come together as Rotarians, create something new and special. When we gain a new member, we are immediately aware of a significant new addition that will impact our club.
Each member has a great opportunity to bring new ideas and enthusiasm to our Rotary club. Your membership will further strengthen our Rotary club, and we eagerly anticipate your active participation.
This guide is intended to help orient you to the club activities and describe many facets of Rotary.
WHAT IS ROTARY?
Rotary is an organization of business and professional men and women united worldwide to conduct humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world.
Rotary began in Chicago in 1905 by a man named Paul Harris and three of his friends, Gus Loehr, Silvester Schiele and Hiram Shorey. The international headquarters is in Evanston, Illinois. There are over 1,200,000 members belonging to over 32,000 clubs in over 168 countries.
There are currently about 40,000 women members of Rotary.
OBJECT OF ROTARY
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:
First: The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service;
Second: High ethical standards in business and professions, the worthiness of all useful occupations, and the dignifying by each Rotarian of his or her occupation as an opportunity to serve society;
Third: The application of the ideal of service by every Rotarian to his or her personal, business, and community life; and
Fourth: The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.
HOW YOU WERE SELECTED
Membership in Rotary is by invitation of the Club only. One of our members will act as your sponsor. You will be asked to complete an orientation to the club, which usually takes 4-6 weeks and has some simple requirements for you to participate in so that you will be completely aware of what the club is like and what it can do for you (and where you will best help the club). Your proposed membership will then be reviewed by the Membership Committee, which considers you for your potential to become an active and contributing member. The Board of Directors then officially approves each proposed membership. All club members are then informed by special notice of your interest in joining our club and, following a week long period wherein any existing club member can voice an objection to your membership, you will then be inducted into the club.
Rotary cannot be likened to a country club or fraternal lodge. There are responsibilities and opportunities far beyond those of simply "belonging" and occasionally attending luncheons with a congenial group of individuals. You will find your horizons broadened as you make new friends who are active in a wide variety of occupations and professions in our club's area.
TYPES OF MEMBERSHIP
There are two types of membership in Rotary:
An Active Member is one who is currently and actively engaged as a proprietor, partner, corporate officer or manager, or an executive position with discretionary authority in his or her business or profession. Active membership from each classification of business or profession is limited to 10% of total club membership or 10 members whichever is larger.
An Honorary Member is a person who has been elected to membership due to distinguished service in the furtherance of Rotary ideals. Election to honorary membership terminates on the June 30th next following the date of election or as determined by the Club Board of Directors.
CLASSIFICATIONS
An active member holds a classification, which is the word, or phrase that describes the principal and recognized activity of the firm, company, or institution with which he or she is connected, or that describes his or her principal and recognized business or professional activity.
Your classification is not given to you; instead it is considered on loan to you for as long as you are an active member of the club. Represent it well.
Should your business change, your classification will also change.
The purpose of the classification system is to create a membership that is diverse and representative of the community from which the membership is drawn.
SERVICE IN ROTARY
The motto of Rotary is "Service Above Self." Service is what Rotary is all about. That is why the word service is first in our motto. The phrase "above self" means exactly that: Rotarians put service ahead of their own interests. It means we serve even when it is inconvenient or costly.
Although some outsiders may believe Rotary is a club for business, in fact it is a club made up of businessmen and businesswomen who strive to find effective ways to provide service in the four avenues of service. As a Rotarian, you will enjoy the company of others in your own community and the pleasure of working with them for the good of your community and of the world.
FOUR AVENUES OF SERVICE
All activities of a Rotary club fall within the basic Rotary service structure known as the "Four Avenues of Service:"
- Club Service
- Vocational Service
- Community Service
- International Service
(If you remember the Object of Rotary, you will note these avenues are an operational organization of the Object.)
Each avenue has an overall committee. Most of these committees have subcommittees, which focus on specific areas of that avenue. These avenues are explained in detail in the Rotary Basic Library.
You will have the opportunity to serve on one or more of these committees. You need not wait to be asked - you may volunteer at any time. If you are shy, don't worry: we will assign you somewhere. Every member of the club serves on at least one committee.
CLUB ORGANIZATION
Every club is chartered by Rotary International, which is the umbrella organization for Rotary. RI requires that every club adopt a "standard constitution" which insures that all clubs are similarly structured. Each club then adopts its own distinctive by-laws for its operations.
A board of directors governs our club. The officers of the club, who are also directors, are president, president-elect, immediate past president, secretary, and treasurer. The officers and directors are elected in accordance with our club by-laws. Everywhere in Rotary, officers change on July 1st.
The reason for early election is to allow for preparation time. The president is elected at the December meeting, but serves first as president-elect for a year beginning on the next July 1st, then as president on the July first following his or her year of service as president-elect.
Meetings of the board of directors are held monthly, at a time and place announced by the president. All directors must attend, and all other members are invited as well. Since the business of the club is done at the board meetings, it is a great opportunity to learn about your club.
DISTRICT ORGANIZATION
All Rotary clubs are grouped into "districts" which are composed of forty to sixty clubs each. There are over 500 districts worldwide.
Our club is a member of District 5030, which comprises over fifty clubs in King County and south Snohomish County. There are about 3,400 members in those clubs.
The district is a support organization designed to help members, committees, officers, and directors of clubs. A "District Governor," who is a member of a club in the district, heads the district. He or she is elected because he or she is an outstanding Rotarian with many years of successful leadership. The district governor is an officer of Rotary International, and as such, provides the link between Rotary International and the individual clubs.
The district governor visits every club in the first part of the Rotary year.
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION
Rotary International is the international organization to which all clubs belong. Individuals belong to their clubs, not to Rotary International.
Rotary International is governed by a board of directors and headed by the international president. These leaders are nominated by a Rotary International nominating committee and elected at the annual international convention.
Rotary International organizes regions, zones, and districts; charters clubs; stages the international convention, and provides administrative and support activities for the clubs.
Rotary International is headquartered at: One Rotary Center,
1560 Sherman Avenue
Evanston, IL 60201
Phone: 1-708-866-3000
CONFERENCES, ASSEMBLIES, AND CONVENTIONS
One of the duties of the district governor is to organize the District Conference. The conference is a three-day event held in the spring, and usually convened in a resort location. Its purpose is information, inspiration, and fellowship. All members of the district are urged to attend and to bring their spouses.
The district also sponsors a District Assembly each spring. Its purpose differs from that of the conference in that the purpose of the district assembly is to provide practical, how-to information on various Rotary subjects. The program lasts from four to six hours and is free. All members who wish to improve their knowledge of Rotary should attend.
Rotary International annually holds the International Convention for Rotarians from all over the world. Attendance at these conventions leaves every Rotarian with the certain knowledge that the internationality of Rotary is real. Every Rotarian is encouraged to attend at least one International Convention in his or her Rotary career.
ATTENDANCE
Rotary does not want "knife and fork" members or what we call "RINO's" (Rotarians in name only). We want you to participate. When you participate, our club is more effective. When you do not participate, our club is weakened.
One of the measures of participation is attendance at regular club meetings. In Rotary, attendance is required. Without regular attendance, you do not know, or learn about club activities, and you do not come to know your fellow club members. You are important to Rotary, or we would not have elected you to membership. How important Rotary is to you will be seen by your attendance record.
Make your Rotary attendance a good habit. Although it is sometimes difficult to get away from a busy job, try to make Rotary an essential part of your weekly plan.
Rotary considers attendance an essential part of being a member. The standard club constitution requires that a member must attend at least 60% of the meetings in each six month period of the Rotary year, of which half must be at your home club. The constitution also suggests that a member be terminated if he or she misses four consecutive meetings.
MAKE-UPS
Occasionally, business, travel, and illness will prevent your attendance at our club. You have the privilege to make up that absence by attending a meeting of another Rotary club. Any make-up, to be valid to credit attendance, must be accomplished within two weeks of the meeting you missed. Put another way, fourteen days before or after the miss. It is your responsibility to ensure that our club secretary is informed about your make-ups. You should acquire a make-up card from the club at which you made up, signed by an officer of that club.
Make-ups are one of the fun privileges in Rotary. You are warmly welcomed by a group that knows nothing about you except you are a Rotarian like them. The friendship they extend to you will explain again what we mean by fellowship.
Make-ups can be done in local clubs, and in clubs around the world. The meeting times and places of Seattle area clubs are published in the club roster. Foreign country make-ups are a highlight of a Rotarian's career. Your secretary can show you when and where every Rotary club in the world meets by consulting the RI Club Directory. (Or check with the Club Service Reps at the greeting table at Club meetings)
Make-ups can be earned in ways other than attending a meeting of another club. Other club locations may be found at www.rotary.org and clicking on the "club locator" button. Attendance credit is also granted for attending district conference, district assembly, international convention, certain district meetings called by the district governor, Club committee meetings, Club service projects, or functions and some other ways noted in the club constitution.
Another aspect of make-ups is how we treat Rotarians who visit our club for a make-up. The Golden Rule applies here. Be friendly, invite visitors to join your table, involve them in your conversations, and make them want to come visit us again.
PARTICIPATION
The purpose of attendance requirements is to foster participation by all members in the activities of the club. We know that no one can be completely involved in all activities, because there are so many. Rotary has been likened to a giant smorgasbord of service: you take a little of this, a little of that, and a whole lot of something else. Your participation goal in Rotary should be to serve heavily in at least one area and at least somewhat in others.
Four areas of participation are mandatory.
- 1. Attend club meetings, as discussed above.
- 2. Serve on at least one committee
- 3. Membership development. We are a service club, and we need more members to help us serve. Obtaining new members is everyone's job in Rotary.
- 4. Fund raising. Since the club needs money to operate, no matter what the project, when we run fundraisers, every member is obligated to do his or her share.
ADMISSION FEES AND DUES
Like all clubs, we require an admission (initiation) fee to be paid to cover the costs of your induction. This fee is paid only once. We divide the annual dues and the facilities charges (which supplement and keep low our lunch charges) into four equal installments, paid quarterly.
OTHER COSTS OF MEMBERSHIP
In addition to admission fees, dues, and meal costs, there are other costs of your membership. You will be expected to participate fully in fund raising activities. Usually these are structured so that we obtain funding from sources outside the club, i.e., by soliciting or selling. Nonetheless, should we run an auction; you would be obligated to attend, at the cost of dinner. Also, from time to time, we may ask your company to support our activities by donating some service or product.
Occasionally, there will be club social functions which may require extra expenditure. Finally, we expect your time. That is probably your most precious possession. We promise to use it well.
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Terry Higashiyama
