HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROTARY

In 1905, on February 23, Paul Harris gathered a few friends together. He hoped that this gathering with Silvester Schiele, Hiram Shorey, and Gus Loehr would be beneficial to all. He had in mind a group that would gather regularly for fellowship and mutual business promotion. That meeting at Gus Loehr’s office in Room 711 of the Union building on Dearborn Street in Chicago was scheduled to rotate from one members place to another, and eventually became known from that as Rotary.

The Group added members, and eventually chartered more clubs. Many, even most, of the members of the original club, now known as Rotary One, thought Paul’s vision of a widespread organization was foolish and impractical. To that end, they appointed Chesley Perry to lead expansion, in expectation that he would quash progress in that direction. Instead, Ches became the champion of expansion. While people refer to Paul Harris as the Architect of Rotary, Paul referred to Ches Perry as the Builder of Rotary.

As the organization grew, it matured and evolved. An early project involved installation of public restrooms in Chicago. Other projects followed, and soon, service became the dominant feature of the organization.

Now, 100 years later, we have learned to give generously of our time, our funds, and our expertise. We are recognized by the United Nations as a leading Non Governmental Organization in the area of International Humanitarian Services, and we operate the world’s largest scholarship fund. In our hometowns we promote literacy, civic pride, and health initiatives among other things.

Ours is an organization of which we can be proud. We promote ethics not only among ourselves, but also lead others in our professions to emulate our standards. The progress we have made over the past century is phenomenal. What shall we do with the next? Different ones of us would respond to the question with panoply of answers reflecting our individual goals. The beauty of it is that we can each be right in our projections by taking the initiative to lead others to support our visions. A wide variety of visions will come true as a result. More people in more lands will enjoy the benefits of clean water, improved literacy, better living standards, and hopefully, Peace.

Happy Birthday, Rotary. We would consider stopping longer to celebrate, but there is work to be done in the name of humanity. We’re sure you’ll excuse us while we get on with our second century.

Dave Gallagher
Centennial District Governor

France Honors Rotary Centennial With Commemorative Stamp

Rotary International Proclamation

Unanimously approved and read at the 109th U.S. Congress

WHEREAS, Rotary International, founded on February 23, 1905 in Chicago, Illinois USA, is the world's first and one of the largest non-profit service organizations; and

WHEREAS, there are over 1.2 million Rotary club members comprised of professional and business leaders in over 31,000 clubs in more than 165 countries; and

WHEREAS, the Rotary motto "Service Above Self" inspires members to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards, and promote good will and peace in the world; and

WHEREAS, Rotary funds club projects and sponsors volunteers with community expertise to provide medical supplies, health care, clean water, food production, job training, and education to millions in need, particularly in developing countries; and

WHEREAS, Rotary in 1985 launched Polio Plus and spearheaded efforts with the World Health Organization, U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and UNICEF to immunize the children of the world against polio; and

WHEREAS, polio cases have dropped by 99 percent since 1988 and the world stands on the threshold of eradicating the disease; and

WHEREAS, Rotary is the world's largest privately-funded source of international scholarships and promotes international understanding through scholarships, exchange programs and humanitarian grants; and

WHEREAS, more than 35,000 students from 110 countries have studied abroad since 1947 as Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars; and

WHEREAS, Rotary's Group Study Exchange program has helped more than 46,000 young professionals explore their career fields in other countries; and

WHEREAS, 8,000 secondary-school students each year experience life in another country through Rotary's Youth Exchange Program; and

WHEREAS, there are over 387,000 Rotary club members in more than 7,700 clubs throughout the United States sponsoring service projects to address such critical issues as poverty, health, hunger, illiteracy, and the environment in their local communities, and abroad.

Therefore, we, the United States Senate/House of Representatives, do hereby proclaim February 23, 2005, as Rotary International Day and encourage all citizens to join us in recognizing Rotary International for 100 years of service to improving the human condition in local communities around the world.

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Rotary District 5220 - Serving California's Central Valley and Mother Lode 

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