About Rotary and Our Club

Rotary Mottos

"Service above Self" and "He profits most who serves best"

A One-Sentence Definition of Rotary

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.

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:

1. The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service;

2. 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;

3. The application of the ideal of service by every Rotarian to his personal, business, and community life;

4. The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world of fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.

Rotary's Four-Way Test

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?

The Four Avenues of Service

Club Service, Vocational Service, Community Service, and International Service are Rotary's philosophical cornerstone and the foundation of club activity.

Membership

Fifteen charter members founded our Club in 1916, only 11 years after the first Rotary Club was organized in Chicago . In 2009, our membership stood at over 310 members.  with 73 members having joined within the last 3 years, while 145 members have been in the Club over 10 years. We are one of 33,000 Rotary clubs worldwide; only about 50 of those clubs are larger than ours. In Michigan, our Club membership ranks 3rd behind the Grand Rapids and Traverse City clubs.

Meetings

Luncheon meetings are held every Wednesday in the Anderson Room of the Michigan Union. There are no meetings the week of Art Fair and the weeks of Christmas and New Year's. Buffet luncheon begins at 11:45 am with option to purchase only a beverage; soup, & salad; or the buffet consisting of salads, soup and beverage (milk, iced tea, coffee). At 12:25 pm, the business portion of the meeting starts. "Business" includes an invocation, introduction of guests and visiting Rotarians, songs (think 1920s-1960s), and reports from the President and committees on community projects and programs.  Weekly guest speakers present a program that ends at 1:30 pm. Speakers are top notch and generally there is an opportunity for Q & A. At various times, members take on one of the following meeting assignments: Host, Invocation, Greeter, and/or assist the Attendance Committee.

Attendance

Yes, our Club does take this seriously. Attendance level below 50% is considered unacceptable. Members who are unable to comply with minimum attendance standards may apply for a leave of absence. Make-up attendance at any of the 33,000 Rotary clubs worldwide is encouraged!

Money

Club dues of $240 are billed in June ($200 for members over 70), and a $170 Community Services Assessment is billed in December of each year. In 1986, our 70th Anniversary, the club established an endowment fund with $70,000 raised as the initial corpus. As of June 30, 2005, assets and bequests total just over $1,000,000. The purpose of the endowment is to improve the quality of life in the Ann Arbor area by providing funds to community groups and scholarships to deserving students.

Governance & Committees

Every member is encouraged to participate in at least one committee. Committees include, but are not limited to, Community Service, International Service, Vocational Service, Program, Attendance/Invocation, Music, Community Spotlight, Club Directory, Membership Development, Rotaract, Special Events, Harpoon, Public Relations, Bowling, Social, and Rotary Tutors. The Club elects four officers (president, vice- president, secretary, treasurer) annually. The immediate past president also serves on the Board. The vice-president serves as president in the succeeding year.

Social Events

The annual Spring Party is a much-enjoyed gathering for members and their spouses/significant others. The Social Committee also plans other outings to nearby arts and entertainment venues. The Huron High School Choir entertains members and guests at a meeting in the spring and the Pioneer High School Choir performs at the December holiday luncheon.