about rotary

The Rotary Story

The Early Years

On February 23, 1905, 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.

Today, Rotary International is a global network of service volunteers. It is the world's largest service organisation for business and professional people, with some 1,180,000 members operating in 166 countries world-wide.

There are some 55,000 Rotarians in Great Britain and Ireland in 1,840 clubs, helping those in need and working towards world understanding and peace. Its a fulfilling role, and Rotarians can get involved as much or as little as their time will allow.

But there is much more. Clubs meet on a regular basis, which allows members to build firm friendships. Every Rotarian has a right to attend any Club meeting anywhere in the world, so there is always somewhere to go, and people to meet, wherever business or leisure travel may take you.

Various Clubs have different emphases, which can reflect differences in size. A small market town may have a Club of perhaps 20 members, whereas in large centres the number can be closer to 100. Some concentrate on local community or vocational projects others link up with a sister club in another country to undertake an international project. Each Club decides how it wants to use the resources it has available.

Rotary's first emblem was a simple wagon wheel (in motion with dust) representing civilization and movement. In 1923 the present gear wheel with 24 cogs and six spokes was adopted. A keyway was added to signify that the wheel was a 'worker and not an idler.' At the RI Convention in 1929, royal blue and gold were chosen as the official colours.