Rotary Information for my Club, July 7, 2009

Rotary Information for all Rotarians of the Club:
(Note: you may forward this to your prospective members)

My dear fellow Rotarians,

I will try to provide you with some Rotary Information that aims to inspire all of us, as we walk our long journey towards Rotarization.

Rotarization is described as a process of transforming ourselves to live, breath, think, act, talk and walk as true Rotarians by heart. And it entails living by the ageless principles of Rotary International - The Four Way Test, and conforming to the true Ideals of Service.

The Object of Rotary

The Object of Rotary can be considered the foundation stone on which the Rotary house is built. This brief statement, is a key element of the Rotary International Constitution. It states the essential purpose of the organization.


FIRST. The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service;
SECOND. High ethical standards in business and professions, the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations, and the dignifying of each Rotarian's occupation as an opportunity to serve society;
THIRD. The application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian's personal, business, and community life;
FOURTH. The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.

The 4-Way test

One of the most widely printed and quoted statements of business ethics in the world is the Rotary 4-Way Test. It was created by Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor in 1932 when he was asked to take charge of a company that was facing bankruptcy. Taylor looked for a way to save the struggling company mired in depression-caused financial difficulties. He drew up a 24-word code of ethics for all employees to follow in their business and professional lives. The 4-Way Test became the guide for sales, production, advertising and all relations with dealers and customers, and the survival of the company is credited to this simple philosophy.


Herb Taylor became president of Rotary International in 1954-55. The 4-Way Test was adopted by Rotary in 1943 and has been translated into more than a hundred languages and published in thousands of ways. The text is printed below:

Of the things we think, say or do:
Is it the Truth?
Is it Fair to all concerned?
Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
Will it be beneficial to all concerned

The Philosophy of 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.


Moving forward, may we all be ONE CLUB, with One Vision, One Mission, united as one Band of the Hand.

Let me end my sharing of Rotary information with this quote about the real Spirit of Rotary:

“The spirit of Rotary is not exclusive; it expands. It is not local, it is universal. It is the wish to understand and be understood, to see virtues rather than faults in others, to find what we have in common rather than what divides us.”