October 3, 2007

To kick off the start of the Deposit Rotary Club's weekly column in The Deposit Courier, I felt it appropriate to introduce our local club, as well as the worldwide Rotary International organization, to everyone in the community who might be unfamiliar with Rotary, its aims, and its functions. It is also my goal to keep everyone informed of the club's news and activities and to highlight the many ways in which Rotary contributes to building a thriving and enriched community here in Deposit. It is a particular honor to me as our local club's newest Rotarian to share news of the Rotary's work with Courier readers each week.

In case you were unaware, the first Rotary club was founded by Chicago attorney Paul P. Harris and three of his professional friends who, on February 23, 1905, formed a club dedicated to community service. They agreed to schedule their meetings on a rotating basis at each of the member's offices and thus chose to name their new organization "Rotary." Within five years, the initial club had inspired so many similar clubs in other communities, that a national organization was founded to help coordinate their efforts. Rotary clubs sprang up so rapidly and profusely that in 1922, with local clubs established on six continents, the global network of service clubs was named Rotary International.

Today, Rotary International consists of more than 32,000 clubs in over 200 countries and counts more than 1.2 million Rotarians as members. The organization dedicates itself to several global programs for the betterment of humanity including the eradication of polio, numerous youth exchange and scholarship programs, and in 2002, the Rotary Foundation partnered with eight major universities throughout the world to create Centers for International Studies at vastly influential academic institutions such as the University of North Carolina, Duke University, and the University of California, Berkeley. The goal of these centers is to promote intellectual work that will diminish conflict and establish long-lasting peace.

In addition to all this, perhaps Rotary's greatest and most direct impact is through the workings of its individual community clubs, such as ours here in Deposit. Most are aware that our club brings exchange students from around the globe to live and study with us each year, but Rotary contributes in countless other ways--of which giving a new beautiful and elegant sign to mark the entrance of the Historical Society's Museum is but one recent example. You can expect to read all about Rotary's important work right here in our column in the Courier! Catch you next week!