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What is Rotary?
Definition of Rotary
Rotary
is
an
organization
of
business
and
professional
leaders
united
worldwide,
who
provide
humanitarian
service,
encourage
high
ethical 
standards
in
all
vocations,
and
help
build
goodwill
and
peace
in
the
world.
There are approximately 1.2 million Rotarians, members of more than 29,000 Rotary clubs in 165 countries.
A brief history
Rotary's first day and the years that followed...
February
23,
1905.
The
airplane
had
yet
to
stay
aloft
more
than
a
few
minutes.
The
first
motion
picture
theater
had
not
yet
opened.
Norway
and
Sweden
were
peacefully
terminating
their
union.
On
this
particular
day,
a
Chicago
lawyer, Paul
P.
Harris,
called
three
friends
to
a
meeting.
What
he
had
in
mind
was
a
club
that
would
kindle
fellowship
among
members
of
the
business
community.
It
was
an
idea
that
grew
from
his
desire
to
find
within
the
large
city
the
kind
of
friendly
spirit
that
he
knew
in
the
villages
where
he
had
grown
up.
The four businessmen didn't decide then and there to call themselves a Rotary club, but their get-together was, in fact, the first meeting of the world's first Rotary club. As they continued to meet, adding others to the group, they rotated their meetings among the members' places of business, hence the name. Soon after the club name was agreed upon, one of the new members suggested a wagon wheel design as the club emblem. It was the precursor of the familiar cogwheel emblem now worn by Rotarians around the world. By the end of 1905, the club had 30 members.
The second Rotary club was formed in 1908 half a continent away from Chicago in San Francisco, California. It was a much shorter leap across San Francisco Bay to Oakland, California, where the third club was formed. Others followed in Seattle, Washington, Los Angeles, California, and New York City, New York. Rotary became international in 1910 when a club was formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. By 1921 the organization was represented on every continent, and the name Rotary International was adopted in 1922.
Some people ask, "How big is Rotary?" The organization has over 1.2 million mmebers in over 34,000 clubs. While the organization started in te United States, today Rotary spans the globe. Click here for statistics.
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 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.
Avenues of Service
For seventy years (since 1927), the program of Rotary has been carried out on four Avenues of Service (originally called channels). These avenues — club service, vocational service, community service and international service — closely mirror the four parts of the Object of Rotary. In 2011 Rotary added a fifth avenue of service to incorproate Rotary's long-standing emphasis on youth programs. The new area is called "New Generations":
Club Service includes the scope of activities that Rotarians undertake in support of their club, such as serving on committees, proposing individuals for membership, and meeting attendance requirements.
Vocational Service focuses on the opportunity that Rotarians have to represent their professions as well as their efforts to promote vocational awareness and high ethical standards in business. For decades, Rotarians having been applying the "4-Way Test" to their business and personal relationships and in recent years, a "Declaration of Rotarians in Businesses and Professions" has given expression to their concern for ethical standards in the workplace. From offering career guidance in high schools, to seeking ways to improve conditions in the workplace, Rotarians and their clubs engage in many different kinds of vocational service.
Community Service includes the scope of activities which Rotarians undertake to improve the quality of life in their community. Many official Rotary programs are intended to meet community needs, whether it be to promote literacy, help the elderly or disabled, combat urban violence or provide opportunities for local youth.
International Service describes the activities which Rotarians undertake to advance international understanding, goodwill and peace. The spread of Rotary clubs across the globe allows for the concerted Rotary support of humanitarian efforts worldwide.
New Generations includes Rotary's many youth programs such as: scholarships, litereacy, Youth Exchange, Rotaract (for young adults), Interact (for high school students).
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. Here it is:
"The 4-Way Test of
the
things
we
think,
say
or
do:
1. Is
it
the
Truth?
2. Is
it
Fair
to
all
concerned?
3. Will
it
build
goodwill
and
better
friendships?
4. Will
it
be
beneficial
to
all
concerned?"