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Becoming a Member
Rotary International Brief History
Becoming a Rotarian
An association of some 30,000 autonomous clubs in more than 160 countries, Rotary International is one of the world's largest service organizations. The goal for a club's membership is an up-to-date and progressive representation of the community's business, vocational, and professional interests.
An important distinction between Rotary and other organizations is that membership in Rotary is by invitation. Rotary clubs invite individuals to join and become members.
Membership is vital to a Rotary club's operations and community service activities. A primary goal of the club is to continually expand the club with committed members who have the interest and ability to get involved in service and humanitarian projects. Prospective members must:
- hold - or be retired from - a professional, proprietary, executive, or managerial position;
- have the capacity to meet the club's weekly attendance and community project participation requirements;
- live or work within the locality of the club or the surrounding area.
The membership process
Often a person being considered for membership is invited by a member/sponsor to attend one or more club meetings to learn more about Rotary. The sponsor may then submit the name of the candidate to the club's membership committee. Membership Proposal.pdf
An individual who is interested in membership but doesn't know any Rotarians, can contact the local club directly. Search the Where Clubs Meet and Rotary Web Sites databases to find contact information for clubs. Some Rotary clubs maintain an office and may be listed in your telephone directory. Other resources include a Rotary club in an adjoining community, the local chamber of commerce, the public library, or other non-profit service organizations.
Classifications: professional representation
Rotary uses a classification system to establish and maintain a vibrant cross-section or representation of the community's business, vocational, and professional interests among members and to develop a pool of resources and expertise to successfully implement service projects. This system is based on the founders' paradigm of choosing cross-representation of each business, profession, and institution within a community.
A classification describes either the principal business or the professional service of the organization that the Rotarian works for or the Rotarian's own activity within the organization. Some examples of classifications include: schools, universities, eye surgery, banking, pharmaceutical, retailing, petroleum, distribution, and insurance agency.
YOUR DUTIES AS A ROTARIAN
ATTENDANCE: A Rotarian is expected to attend weekly meetings of the
Club on a regular basis. If attendance is less than 60% of the meetings
during a six-month period of the Club's fiscal year, the membership is
automatically dropped.
PROPOSING NEW MEMBERS: It is a privilege and obligation of every
Rotarian to propose new members.
SERVICE ON COMMITTEES: Every Rotarian should be active on the
committees to which he has been appointed in order to promote the ideal of
service.
DISTRICT CONFERENCE: The District Conference is an annual meeting
of Rotarians of the District and which provides fellowship and discussion
of the affairs of the clubs and Rotary International generally. Every
Rotarian is encouraged to attend the District Conference.
INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION: The International Convention is
held annually in May or June in a major city somewhere in the world.
Rotarians from all over the world meet to deal with the association’s
business. Through international fellowship, knowledge of the world’s
cultures, customs, and needs are discovered.
CONTRIBUTE TO ROTARY FOUNDATION: The Rotary International
Foundation is one of the largest in the world. The Mansfield Rotary Club
maintains three Funds at the Richland County Foundation. The income from
all funds is used to address worldwide problems and/or community needs in
our Club's backyard. Becoming a Paul Harris Fellow should be every
Rotarians minimum goal.
Copyright 2007 Mansfield Rotary All rights reserved