Paul P. Harris 1868-1947
Service - A Simple Idea to Serve Mankind
By Harvey York
One man. . . a simple idea. . . the result: a movement which now includes over 1,200,000 men and women in 166 countries and geographic areas on five continents - all devoted to the fine concept of fellowship and service to mankind. That's the story of Rotary International in a nutshell.
The man: Paul Harris, a young lawyer in Chicago. The year: 1905. His idea: fellowship -that people in business had much to gain by enlarging their circle of acquaintances by knowing more about people in other lines of work.
This idea of organizing a club to get to know more people was Paul Harris' answer to the problem of being lonely in a big city. But, there was also a mutual helpfulness resulting from this kind of association.
Paul Harris invited three friends to meet with him on the evening of February 23, 1905 to discuss his idea - a coal dealer, a mining engineer and a merchant tailor. By coincidence, they were men of four different ethnic backgrounds and three religious faiths.
The club idea caught on and soon the group was enlarged and met regularly. As part of "getting acquainted," meetings were held in members' places of business - in rotation, thus giving rise to the name "Rotary." In a short time the group was too large to meet in offices and the tradition of noon luncheon meetings began. Soon the idea of providing community service developed. The Chicago Rotary Club first recognized a need for public comfort stations in Chicago. Members enrolled the support of every important civic organization, along with city and county government, and the first Rotary public service project was completed.
As Chicago Rotarians met businessmen in other cities, the idea of forming similar clubs spread- 1908: San Francisco - 1909: Oakland, Seattle, Los Angeles, New York City and Boston.
In the first seven months of 1910, nine more clubs were formed and in August of that year, the first Rotary convention was held, with delegates from 14 of the 16 existing clubs.
Rotary became international in 1910 with the formation of a club in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. In the following year, clubs were organized in Ireland and England.
As Rotary grew in membership and spread to all five continents, its goals also enlarged. The idea of service is still the fundamental concept, but it is now expressed in specific terms, called avenues of service: Club Service, Community Service, Vocational Service and International Service.
In its 100 years, Rotary has also become a major international benefactor, allocating millions of dollars every year in scholarships for international study, programs to fight hunger and disease around the world and untold millions more in projects financed by local Rotary clubs.
Together, Rotary avenues of service have become a living motto:
Service Above Self
