Rotary International's Mission Statement

---

The mission of Rotary International is to support its member clubs in fulfilling the Object of Rotary by:  

Fostering unity among member clubs;
Strengthening and expanding Rotary around the world;
Communicating worldwide the work of Rotary; and
Providing a system of international administration.

So how did Rotary get its start? A  gentleman named Paul Harris is the founder of Rotary. Born in 1868 in  Wisconsin, Harris attended the University of Vermont, Princeton and  University of Iowa where he received his law degree in 1891. Upon  graduation he travelled the world and worked in a number of jobs as  newspaper reporter, college teacher, actor and cowboy. His early travel  and work experiences broadened his vision and were of material  assistance in the early development of Rotary.
 

In 1896, Paul Harris went to Chicago to practice law. One day in 1900  he dined with a lawyer friend in Rogers Park, a residential section of  Chicago. After dinner they took a walk and he was impressed with the  fact that his friend stopped at several stores and shops in the  neighborhood and introduced him to the owners who were his friends. Paul  Harris’ law clients were business friends, not social friends, but this  experience caused him to wonder why he could not make social friends  out of at least some of his business friends---and he resolved to  organize a club which would band together a group of representative  business and professional men in friendship and fellowship.
 

For the next several years he devoted a great deal of time to reflecting  on conditions of life and business and by 1905 he had formulated a  definite philosophy of business relations. After talking about his ideas  with several business associates he decided, with his friends, to  organize a club which he had been thinking about for five years. On  February 23, 1905, the clubs first meeting took place and the nucleus  was formed for the thousand of Rotary clubs which were later organized  throughout the world. The new club which Paul Harris named “Rotary”  because the members met, in rotation, in their various places of  business, met with general approval and membership grew quickly. Almost  all members had come to Chicago from rural areas and were anxious to  affiliate with other business people when they arrived in Chicago. When  Paul Harris became president of the club in its third year he was  anxious to extend Rotary to other cities because he was convinced that  the Rotary club could be developed into an important service movement. The second club was founded in San Francisco in 1908. The  next two years 16 other clubs were formed and then it was decided they  should be united into an organization which would extend the movement to  other cities and to become a clearinghouse to exchange ideas among the  other clubs and the National Association of Rotary Clubs was formed.  Shortly thereafter Rotary clubs formed in Canada and Great Britain  making the movement international in scope. In 1922 that organization  was renamed Rotary International. Paul Harris was the  first president of the International Association. When he passed away in  1947, he was named president emeritus of Rotary International.
 

During his time in Rotary, Paul Harris was also prominent in many civic  and professional endeavors. Most of his efforts focused on disadvantaged  youth. To this day Paul Harris is considered the “father  of Rotary” and the foundation that now bears his name funds projects all  over the world.   

From the earliest days of the organization, Rotarians were concerned with promoting high ethical standards in their professional Lives. One of the words most widely printed and quoted statements of business ethics is The 4-Way Test, which was created in 1932 by Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor (who later served as RI president) when he was asked to take charge of a company that was facing bankruptcy. This 24-word test for employees to follow in their business and professional lives 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. Adopted by Rotary in 1943, The 4-Way Test has been translated into more than a hundred Languages and published in thousands
of ways. It asks the following four questions:
 

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?