Rotary Mini School

Posted by Allan Loiselle

on Mar 13, 2012

A brief overview of what Rotary is and how it is organized.

There are 1.2 million members world-wide in 34,000 clubs. We are in more than 200 countries. Rotary is organized into Zones and Districts, and there are over 500 districts. Typically districts contain 40 to 70 clubs. Our district, #6330, has 61 clubs at this time, and 2,090 members as of February 2012. District 6300’s geographic area runs from the Flint area in Michigan east to Aylmer, and from Lake Erie north to Wiarton. There are 20 clubs in Michigan, and 41 on Ontario.

District 6330 is sub-divided into 9 areas. There are 3 in Michigan and 6 in Ontario. Areas have from 6 to 9 clubs each. Our area is #4, containing the 7 London clubs plus St Thomas and Aylmer.

Rotary is organized from the individual clubs outward through the districts to Rotary International, in Chicago. Members belong to the individual club, not to Rotary International.Rotary was established in 1905, by Paul Harris and 3 friends, all new to Chicago, and looking for fellowship and mutual business referrals. The name Rotary was established in recognition of their habit of rotating their weekly meetings from one place of business to another. It was soon realized that for the club to be sustainable, it needed to be involved in service projects that had a benefit to the community. Rotary has maintained that ideal ever since. The first service project was Public Washrooms in downtown.

In 1917 Rotary International President Archie Klumph proposed an endowment fund be set up “to do some good in the world” This fund became the Rotary Foundation, named one of the top 10 charities in the U.S. The Foundation has remained true to this simple but powerful 7 word mission statement ever since.

Through its local and international service projects, Rotary has focused onto some core areas.
Currently, they are:
·         Peace and conflict prevention/resolution
·         Disease prevention and treatment
·         Water and sanitation
·         Maternal and child health
·         Basic education and literacy
·         Economic and community development

Rotary operates under the idea there are 4 pillars of a successful club. That is, an effective club is able to sustain and increase membership, is able to implement successful service projects, supports the Rotary Foundation and develops leaders beyond the club level. Rotary Clubs should have a club leadership plan that extends at least 3 years into the future, and clearly identifies future club leaders, sets the club’s goals and has a plan for how to reach those goals.

Each year, the incoming Rotary International President identifies priorities for his year. In 2012 / 13, incoming President Sakuji Tanaka has identified 3 strategic priorities for his year – Support and strengthen clubs, Focus and increase humanitarian service and Enhance public image and awareness. He has also named 5 additional priorities – Eradicate Polio, the Rotary Foundation and the Future Vision plan, Rotary Club Central, Membership and to position Rotary as a major player in global humanitarian assistance and development. His theme for his year is Peace Through Service

Incoming District Governor, Tom Robitaile, (RC of Sarnia Bluewaterland) has similarly established certain goals –
·         Membership – a net 3% increase in the district, clubs to have at least 2 members attend the Rotary Leadership Institute, and have an active member retention plan in place
·         Foundation – 100% club participation in the Annual Programs Fund, have 90% of clubs certified under Future Vision, and that clubs contribute at least the same to Polio Plus as they did last year.
·         Service Projects – Ensure clubs are aware of the 6 areas of focus, and encourage active participation in service projects, and access Foundation funds where applicable to support projects.
·         Public Relations – have a minimum of 60% of the clubs maintain a web-site or FaceBook page
·         Clubs – encourage clubs to have a fellowship event at least quarterly.

For more information, visit the Rotary International web site at www.rotary.org, or go to the District web-site at www.rotary6330.org   You will find a wealth of information about Rotary, our history, our service projects world-wide    and much, much more.