Becoming a New Member of the
Rotary Club of Ambler
The Rotary Club
of Ambler is part of a much larger, worldwide organization, Rotary International
(“RI”). Rotary International is organized into geographic Districts,
which consist of several individual clubs, such as Ambler. We are a part of
District 7430. Information about RI and our District can be found by checking
out their links on our home page.
What
is Rotary?
First, and
foremost, it’s an international organization
It is
a global network of community leaders comprised of professionals, businessmen
and clergy.
Men & women
volunteers dedicated to the ideal of service
Rotarians provide
humanitarian, educational & cultural programs and service locally &
throughout the free world (i.e. Housing, clean water, disease control, vocational
assistance and literacy)
Rotary encourages
high ethical standards
Rotary attempts
to build good will, understanding & world peace
Rotary is non-political,
non-religious, non-governmental and is open to every race, culture &
creed.
Membership
is by invitation only
ROTARY
AS AN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION
The first Rotary
Club was organized in Chicago in 1905, by Paul P. Harris. This club met in rotation
at the offices of the founding members, hence the name Rotary. There
are now more than 32,000 Rotary Clubs in the world with a total Rotary
membership of more than 1.2 million.
The free world
is divided into territories within which a group of clubs are associated
– these territories are known as Rotary Districts.
There are presently 527 districts in the Rotary world – in over 170 countries and geographic territories.
The Ambler Club is in District 7430, which is composed of 47 clubs with a
total membership of over 2400 Rotarians (as of winter 2009).
Rotary International
is governed by a President and Board of Directors elected from all
over the world. Annually, each District elects a District Governor, but each club is an
autonomous group.
THE OBJECT OF ROTARY
The Object of Rotary
is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise
and, in particular, to encourage and foster:
| First |
The
development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service; |
Second |
High
ethical standards in business and professions; the recognition of the worthiness
of all useful occupations; and the dignifying by each Rotarian of his occupation
as an opportunity to serve society. |
Third |
The
application of the ideal of service by every Rotarian to his personal, business,
and community life; |
|
Fourth |
The
advancement of international understanding, good will, and peace through
a world fellowship of business and professional men & women united in
the ideal of service |
WHAT
DOES ROTARY DO?
On our Home Page
are several links which can give you a basic understanding of International
and District activities, as well as the FOUR WAY TEST, which governs
the conduct of Rotarians in their personal and professional lives. A snapshot
of who we are and what we do can be seen in the…
FIVE
(5) P’S OF ROTARY
| PROJECTS |
During
the past 10 years, Rotarians have conducted 1.8 million humanitarian and
educational projects, 253 million volunteer hours worked, and spent between
$5.7 and $10 billion dollars on worldwide and community service projects. |
|
PEACE |
Rotary
builds understanding through International scholarships & humanitarian
grants. Rotary has established centers for international studies in peace
& conflict resolution, and grants ambassadorial scholarships. We are
the world’s largest university level program. |
POLIO
ERADICATION |
Rotary
launched a Polio Plus program in 1985 to immunize the world’s children.
Since then we have raised $650 million to assist in inoculations, and the
world is now 99% polio free. To date, 2 billion children have been inoculated,
and these move us closer to our goal of a 100% polio free world. When this
goal is reached it could provide a potential worldwide savings of up to
$1.5 billion annually. |
PROGRESS |
From
the inception of the first original 5 Chicago members in 1905, Rotary has
grown to over 1,200,000 members. The Rotary Foundation was established to
provide funding from donations for both an annual fund & a permanent
fund for Rotary projects and programs. In 1945 Rotarians helped establish
the UN & UNESCO. |
PEOPLE |
Through
the act of becoming an active Rotarian, dedicated men & women have an
organized opportunity to make the world a better place. |
ABOUT
THE ROTARY CLUB OF AMBLER (RCA)
-
RCA meets every
Wednesday for lunch in the Ballroom at the William Penn Inn. Except for Holidays
and Special Events)
-
Meetings begin
promptly @ 12:15 P.M. and conclude by 1:30 P.M.
-
Each Rotary
Year begins July 1st and ends June 30th
-
Rotary officers
at all levels serve in their capacity for one year
-
RCA officers
and board member elections are held in December
-
A “Changeover”
dinner is held the first week of the Rotary year, during which new officers
are introduced
and installed for the coming year
-
In December
a family holiday dinner is substituted in lieu of the weekly lunch meeting.
This event
includes a variety of entertainment
-
Other social
events have been popular including: picnics, theater parties, dinner-dances,
Monte-Carlo
evenings, Phillies baseball games, golf outings just to name a few.
-
Fund raisers
have included theme auctions, jazz concerts, Monte-Carlo nights & a 75th
Anniversary golf tournament.
-
Youth service
activities continue to be a high priority and focus of the RCA (i.e. Youth
exchanges with foreign countries both inbound and outbound, camps providing
team work & leadership skills, prom night support, and both student of
the month and college bound high school student scholarships.
-
Our district
governor visits at least once a year to meet with the officers and committee
chairs. At this time he reviews our goals, accomplishments etc. with the club
officers and directors.
-
Ambler Rotary
was founded/chartered December 11, 1925
-
Current membership
is approximately 90
-
We have numerous
(instead of putting # which may change) committees and activities devoted
to the four avenues of service: Club, Community, Vocational and International
-
In 2000, RCA
established the “CFARC” (The Charitable Foundation of the Ambler
Rotary Club – a 501c3 organization) to raise money for service causes
and make it tax-deductible for donors
-
The classification
system is a basis of membership. A limit of 10% of total club membership is
permitted, which enables members to share a general classification (eg. Lawyers,
estate lawyer)
-
The name Rotary
was adopted early on because meetings were rotated between the members’
stores and offices.
-
The Rotary wheel
is symbolic of man’s first technological invention and represents the
movement of people and ideas from place to place
-
Membership is
restricted to a specific club and does not permit transfer to another club
-
Each club is
autonomous, and is assigned a specific geographical district. This district
is guided by the constitution and by-laws of Rotary international headquartered
in Evanston, Illinois.
-
In 1910, the
Rotary object and motto was formulated to provide a succinct definition of
our purpose
Our
Motto is “Service Above Self”
THE
FOUR – WAY TEST
Of
the things we think, say or do
- Is it
the TRUTH?
- Is it Fair to all concerned?
- Will
it build GOOD WILL and BETTER Friendships?
- Will
it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
|
We
Implement the Object of ROTARY through…
THE
FOUR AVENUES OF SERVICE
Club Service
Those
things that a Rotarian does to help make successful the running of his local
Rotary Club
Vocational
Service
The promoting
of the “ideal of service” throughout the business and professional
world.
Community Service
Urges
every Rotarian to participate in all activities which will make his community
a better place in which to live
International
Service
Encourage
and foster the advancement of understanding and goodwill among peoples of the
world. We support the Rotary Foundation program, which enables outstanding students
to study for one year in a country other than their own on Rotary grants.
PRIVILEGES
OF A ROTARIAN
The privilege of
friendship and fellowship with other civic leaders throughout your community
and the world
The privilege of
giving service to your community
The privilege of
developing international good will and understanding through humanitarian programs
& service projects
The privilege of
helping build higher ethical standards within your vocation
The privilege of
working and associating with other dedicated like minded men & women.
The opportunity
to learn about fellow Rotarians and be inspired by their accomplishments
The opportunity
to learn first hand about your community’s past, present and future!
THE
OBLIGATIONS OF MEMBERSHIP
ATTENDANCE - Weekly club meetings, or make-up meetings at other clubs, club programs, fund
raisers, social events. 50% attendance is required (at club meetings).
DUES – Annual dues must be paid by all members
PARTICIPATION – Members are expected to actively serve on one or more committees
INVOLVEMENT – Members are encouraged to participate in club service projects, programs,
fund raisers and social events.
COMMITMENT – To conduct our lives by the Four Way Test & the Principles of Rotary
GIVE
A CLASSIFICATION TALK – Your Bio (introduce yourself, family and vocation to club members)
WEEKLY
MEETING ASSIGNMENTS – Greeters, room set-up, prayer, 50/50 &/ or other assignments.
RECRUIT
NEW MEMBERS
DISTRICT
CONFERENCES & R.I. CONVENTIONS
“EVERY
ROTARIAN EVERY YEAR” – Goal is 100% participation by the club represents Paul Harris fellowship
to support Rotary Foundation.
The
Expected Annual COST of MEMBERSHIP
Dues (New
Members Prorated) |
$140.00 |
Weekly Lunches |
$14.00 |
Social Events
& Fund Raisers |
Varies |
Grand Club
Buy/Sell 10 tickets |
$100.00 |
Paul Harris
Sustaining Fellowship |
$100.00 |
| 50/50
Happy Dollars Lottery (Voluntary) |
$1-5.00/wk |
Rotary
Publications
Rotary International
publishes “The Rotarian” (a monthly magazine), the cost of which is
included in your annual dues. You will receive this magazine each month. It
is well worth reading
- It contains
news of Rotary activities from around the world.
- It
also contains interesting articles by outstanding writers on a variety of
important subjects.
The
RCA website is www.amblerrotary.org
Our Rotary Club
furnishes you on this site with…
1. Access
Links to Almost Anything you would like to know about Rotary.
2. Our Club Newsletter “The Rotary Wheel”. Which reports
weekly the news of our members and club activities.
3. A Roster of our membership (Available only to members). You
will find it convenient and useful
If you are invited
by a current member and think that you and Rotary might be a good match, after
you have familiarized yourself with Rotary, been proposed, are approved and
inducted as a new member…
YOU
WILL BE ASSIGNED to at least one of our Standing Committees by
our President
YOU
WILL BE WELCOMED by each member of our Club – but remember,
like any organization, you must make the effort to meet and know us.
Like anything else, you will get out of your Rotary experience what you put
into it.
We hope that after
this review you have a better understanding of what membership in the Rotary
Club of Ambler will entail. If you have additional questions, please check with
your sponsor or any club member. The Application for Membership must be obtained from your sponsor or a Club Officer. |
