CHESTERTON - PORTER
ROTARY CLUB
MEMBERSHIP MANUAL
REVISED - 2009
CHESTERTON - PORTER ROTARY
200 West Indiana Avenue
Chesterton, Indiana 46304
INTRODUCTION
Rotary was started in Chicago in 1905 by Paul Harris, a young lawyer who wanted to form "a fellowship composed of just one man from each of many different occupations, without restrictions as to their politics or religion, with broad tolerance of each others opinions." Meetings were rotated between the offices of the initial members, which gave rise to the names of "Rotary" and "Rotarian." Rotary is the oldest and one of the largest of all the "service clubs."
Rotary is now officially defined as "an organization of business and professional persons, united worldwide, who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world."
Although Rotary began as an all male club, the Rotary Clubs of the United States led the movement to include women in the organization in the 1980's. In 2001 Rotary International officially precluded clubs from limiting membership based on gender.
The Chesterton - Porter Rotary Club was founded in 1960. It is within Rotary District 6540, which covers the northern third of the state of Indiana.
The club is one of more than 24,000 local Rotary Clubs chartered by Rotary International operating in over 160 countries. There are over 1 million Rotarians throughout the world.
THE OFFICIAL MOTTO
The official motto of Rotary International is "Service above Self."
THE OBJECT OF ROTARY
Rotary can also be defined by 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, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.
ROTARY AND POLITICS
Rotary operates outside of the political arena and clubs are prohibited from issuing partisan political statements or from exerting pressure on government or political authorities. Rotary can operate as a platform for educational programs and discussions concerning political issues insofar as the topics affect service to vocations and the community as well as the pursuit of the Rotary objective of world understanding and peace.
Rotary also expects that clubs will comply with the laws of the country in which they exist and will operate in accordance with sensitivity for local customs and traditions.
THE 4-WAY TEST
The Rotary 4-Way Test is intended to be a measure of ethical conduct. Rotarians are encouraged to know and apply the 4-Way test in their private and professional lives. The 4-Way Test is:
Of 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?
FIRST NAME CUSTOM
One of the ways by which Rotary encourages fellowship is through the custom of addressing fellow Rotarians by their first name.
GREETERS
New Members are assigned to serve as Greeters throughout the first year of their membership in the Club so that they may become familiar with their fellow Rotarians. Greeters sit with the Secretary and Treasurer and help check-in Rotarians arriving for meetings. New members will be assigned as greeters by the Club President and will rotate as weekly meeting Greeters with other new club members.
MEMBERSHIP & CLASSIFICATION
Rotary has two types of membership: active and honorary. Each active member is classified by his or her profession. A club may have 5 persons per classification, or 10 percent of the membership in a single classification if the club has 50 or more members.
PINS
Rotarians are encouraged to wear their Rotary lapel pins, which identify their status as Rotarians. A pin is provided to each new member, additional pins may be purchased from the club secretary.
BADGES
A membership badge listing the name and classification of membership is provided to each new Rotarian. Members are expected to wear their badges during meeting. The failure to wear a pin and badge at the meeting can result in a fine.
MEMBERSHIP PROPOSALS
Membership in Rotary is by invitation. Active members may propose individuals of good character, business and social standing as prospective members to the club by submitting a membership proposal to the club secretary. The board of directors and the classification committee review the proposal and approve or disapprove the proposed membership. After board action, the proposer should be notified about the board action and if favorable, the proposed member shall be informed about Rotary and encouraged to make formal application for membership to the club. Upon receipt of a membership application, the name and proposed classification is published to the club and any member may file a written objection to the proposal within ten days of publication. If no objection is received within the allotted time period, the prospective member may be inducted. If a written objection is filed with the secretary, the board of directors reviews the proposal and can either approve or disapprove the proposed membership.
All regular members are urged to be on the look out for prospective members as they go through their business day. Occasionally clubs will conduct an organized membership drive for the purpose of strengthening their membership.
INITIATION FEE
An initiation fee of $25, payable upon induction, is assessed of all new members.
DUES
The dues for the Chesterton - Porter Rotary Club are $100 per year, payable in installments of $50, twice a year. A portion of the annual dues is forwarded to the district and a portion is forwarded to Rotary International. Part of the international dues pay for individual subscriptions to The Rotarian for members.
MONTHLY MEAL FEES
Members are responsible for paying a monthly meal fee. Fees are due in advance for the entire month, payable at the first meeting of the month. Due to the need to establish a minimum meal guarantee with the club's caterer, monthly meal fees are nonrefundable and there is no credit for missed meals without a make-up. The current price per meal is $9.
Members who are unable to eat the regular meals due to dietary restrictions may request of the board that the weekly fee be waived.
Members with seasonal residence or on extended vacation may request of the board that the weekly meal fee be waived.
Members who submit a make-up from another club for missed meetings will receive a credit of $9 for each make-up received.
GUEST FEES
The sponsoring member pays meal fees for guests. Visiting Rotarians pay their own meal fees. The club pays meal fees for guests who present programs.
The planning committee for the event sets meal fees for special events such as the installation banquet or Christmas party.
FINES
The rotating Sergeant-at-arms is responsible for extracting appropriate fines from the club membership for a wide variety of indiscretions. Offenses such as the failure to wear a pin, badge or tie are common transgressions. The maximum fine at a regular meeting is $1 as established by the "Cahoon Amendment," named in honor of the past member responsible for the fine ceiling. There is no ceiling on fines at special events, however fines have traditionally been limited to a maximum of about $5.
BIRTHDAY
At the beginning of each month, the club sings "Happy Birthday" to those members celebrating their birthdays. Members with birthdays pay a $5 fee for the serenade.
CLUB DRAWING
The club has had a variety of ticket and card drawings over the years to raise supplemental income for the Rotary Foundation. Sometimes the pot is 50% of the amount raised, sometimes an amount accumulated over time. If the drawing amount has been accumulated over time, the “Bob Gerometta Rule” is followed. The rule allows non-members to participate in the drawing, but winnings are limited to $50.
AUCTIONS
The club has periodic "white elephant" items provided by volunteer members for auction at regular and special meetings.
OTHER FINANCES
Additional revenue for the club and its service projects are sometimes raised through special pledge campaigns and fund raising projects. Our fund raising projects are usually product sales such as Christmas greens or dinners such as the Fish Fry or the Barbeque Chicken sale.
MEETINGS
The Chesterton - Porter Rotary Club currently meets on Tuesdays at 11:45 a.m. in the Library Service Center, Chesterton. Attendees begin the meetings by eating lunch, followed by the formal portion of the session.
ATTENDANCE
Rotary has minimum attendance requirements. Effective July 1, 2007 Rotarians must maintain 50% attendance in any 6-month attendance period or their membership may be terminated for non-attendance. 30% of the attended meetings must be at the home club. Rotarians who have special temporary circumstances in their personal and professional lives are asked to communicate their problems and may ask the board for a leave of absence from membership and attendance requirements until such time as the special circumstance may be resolved.
A member who has a combined age and years of membership in Rotary equaling 85 years may request of the Board to be excused from meeting attendance requirements.
MAKE-UPS
One of the benefits of Rotary is the opportunity to meet fellow Rotarians throughout the world through the practice of make-ups. Rotarians can maintain their attendance percentage through making up missed meetings by attending the meeting of another Rotary club. Make-ups must be made 14 days before or after a missed meeting. Attending monthly Board meetings and attendance at service projects can also be counted as make-ups. Make-up slips are available from the secretary of the club visited. Rotarians are still required to maintain at least 30% regular attendance at their home club without the benefit of make-ups.
The meeting dates, places and times of all Rotary clubs are listed in the Rotary International Directory. The Rotary International web site has an online meeting directory.
Make-ups can now also be made on-line by visiting the Rotary International web site at http://www.rotary.org.
BANNERS
It is a tradition for visiting Rotarians to exchange club banners with the clubs that they visit. The Chesterton - Porter club already has banners from most all of our immediate neighbors and from many foreign clubs. We hope to have images of the banners we’ve collected posted on our web site soon. If you plan a visit outside of our area, please see the secretary for a supply of banners to be exchanged.
GUESTS
Rotary encourages its members to bring guests to its meetings, but the luncheon expense is the responsibility of the host unless the guest is providing a program.
VISITING ROTARIANS
Every Rotary club should make visiting Rotarians feel welcome at club meetings. Members should introduce themselves and insure that visitors are part of the fellowship of the meeting. Visitors are responsible for their meal fee, but are traditionally not fined.
PROGRAMS
Quality programs are essential for a Rotary Club. The Vice-President of our club has traditionally been responsible for serving as the Program Coordinator. Program committees are assigned to the task of planning and scheduling the weekly programs for the month. It is recommended that programs be scheduled well in advance and the schedule be given to the President, the Coordinator, and the Editor of the newsletter for publicity. Members with program suggestions are encouraged to forward them to upcoming committees. If the Program Committee for the month fails to schedule a program, the club may be forced to watch a dreadful documentary film about “Kudzu.”
SERGEANT AT ARMS
The Sergeant-at-Arms is an officer of the club and serves a two-year term of office. Members are assigned to serve as the sergeant for individual meetings on a rotating basis.
OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS
The Officers and Directors of the club are as follows:
President Director of Club Service
President-Elect Director of Vocational Service
Vice-President Director of Community Service
Secretary Director of International Service
Treasurer Past President
Sergeant-at-Arms
The Sergeant-at-Arms and Directors of the Avenues of Service serve 2 year terms of office. The remaining officers serve 1 year terms. When elected to the office of Treasurer, it is the tradition of the club for that member to "move through the chairs" up to the office of President.
The duties and responsibilities of each office are those normally assigned to the office in other organizations with the addition of some Rotary specific responsibilities. For instance, the President-Elect has traditionally been responsible for coordinating conference and assembly attendance.
AVENUES OF SERVICE
Rotary activities are usually organized into 4 avenues of service: Club Service, Vocational Service, Community Service, and International Service. A Director is assigned to coordinate the activities and committees of each avenue of service.