History and General Information
Membership:
Fifteen charter members founded the club in 1916, only 11 years after the first Rotary Club was organized in Chicago . Year-end 2005 (June 30) membership stood at 296, including 75 females (first admitted in 1988). If you are an "median Ann Arbor Rotarian," you are 64 years of age and have been in the club for 10 years. It should be noted, however, that 73 members have been in Rotary less than 3 years, while 145 members have been in the club over 10 years. We are one of 32,066 Rotary clubs worldwide and only about 70 of those clubs are larger than ours. In Michigan, only the Grand Rapids and Traverse City clubs have more members.
Meetings:
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 12:30 pm, the business portion of the meeting starts. "Business" includes an invocation, introduction of guests and visiting Rotarians, songs (think 1920s-1960s), update of the "news at noon," occasional jokes and/or "thought for the day," and sometimes a focus on a community project/program that the club has supported financially. Weekly guest speakers begin no later than 1:00 pm with the program ending at 1:30 pm. Speakers are top notch! Opportunity provided for Q & A. It should be noted that if you cannot stay for the speaker, please sit near a door so that you may slip out quietly. New members are inducted in March, July and November. At various times, you will be asked to take on one of the following meeting assignments: Host, Invocation, Greeter, and/or assist the Attendance Committee. You are provided a thorough explanation of the assignment and given plenty of advance notice. If you cannot serve on the date asked, it is your responsibility to find a replacement.
Attendance:
Yes, this is taken seriously. Attendance level below 50% is considered unacceptable. Procedures are in place to apply for a leave of absence should a member find himself/herself temporarily unable to comply with minimum attendance standards. Make-up attendance at any of the 32,066 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 billed in December of each year. In 1986, our 70th Anniversary, the club established the endowment 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:
You have many options here! Committees include Program, Attendance/Invocation, Music, Community Spotlight, Club Directory, Membership Development, Vocational Service, International Service, Special Events, Harpoon, Public Relations, Bowling, Social, History, and Community Service. Join a committee or committees as soon as you can - it's a great way to meet members and really feel a part of the Club. Yearly, the Club elects four officers (president, vice- president, secretary, treasurer). The immediate past president also serves on the Board. The vice-president serves as president in the succeeding year
Social Events:
Annual Spring party for members and their spouses/significant others. One occasion, there are outings to the Performance Network. The Huron High School Choir entertains members and guests at a meeting in the spring. One of the December meetings is a holiday luncheon in the Michigan Union Ballroom where the Pioneer High School choir entertains members and guests.
What is?
Helpful definitions:
Rotary motto/slogan: "Service above Self" and "He Profits Most Who Serves Best"
Rotary Four-Way Test: 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?
Paul Harris Fellow: An individual who contributes, or in whose honor or memory there is contributed, a gift of $1,000 to the Rotary International Foundation. Named after Paul Harris the founder of Rotary.
Rotary: a one sentence definition: Rotary is 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 Four Avenues of Service : These are Rotary’s philosophical cornerstone and the foundation of club activity. They are Club Service, Vocational Service, Community Service and International Service.