Hobart Rotary Club - Rotary Book of Readings: Inspiration to Change the World

Rotarys popularity spread throughout America in the decade following its creation. Clubs were chartered from San Francisco to New York. By 1921, Rotary clubs had formed on 6 continents, which led to the adoption of the name Rotary International a year later.

As the organization grew, the mission of Rotary also matured beyond simply meeting the professional and social interests of Rotarians. Club members started joining their resources and talents to serve in their communities.

The wheel has been the Rotary symbol since the early days of the organization. The first design was created by Chicago Rotarian, Montague Bear, who was an engraver. Bears drawing was a simple wagon wheel, with a few lines to show dust and motion. The wheel was said to illustrate Civilization and Movement, which was fitting since the name Rotary was chosen based on the initial practice of rotating meetings between members offices.

Although most of the early clubs had some form of wagon wheel on their publications and letterheads, it was in 1922 that the decision was made to adopt one single design as the exclusive emblem of Rotary. In 1923, the gear wheel emblem which is still used by all Rotarians was adopted by the Rotary International Association. The gear wheel has 24 cogs, six spokes, and a keyway in the center of the gear that attaches it to a power shaft.

The first motto of Rotary International, He Profits Most Who Serves Best, was approved at the second Rotary Convention back in August 1911 and is still one of the driving mottoes for Rotarians today. The initial phrase was introduced by Art Sheldon, a Chicago-based Rotarian, when he gave a speech in 1910 and stated, He profits most who serves his fellows best.

During the same time frame, Ben Collins, who was then the president of the Rotary Club of Minneapolis, Minnesota, mentioned that the way to correctly organize a Rotary club was through the principle his club had adoptedService, Not Self.

At the 1950 Rotary Convention in Detroit, Michigan, both of these slogans, with slight modifications, were formally approved to be the official mottoes of Rotary: He Profits Most Who Serves Best and Service Above Self. In 1989, the Council on Legislation established that Service Above Self" was the principal motto of Rotary because it best represents the Rotarian philosophy of unselfish volunteer service.

The Rotary organization is defined by a multitude of characteristics represented by a Rotary club as well as the activities of a million Rotarians. In 1976, the Rotary International Board of Directors desired to identify a concise definition of Rotary that encompassed the fundamental aspects. After several drafts, the committee of the three men then serving on Rotarys Public Relation Committee presented the one-sentence definition that is still used today for Rotary:

Rotary is an organization of business and professional person 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 is to encourage and nurture the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise, particularly:

1. Foster the development of friends and associates as an opportunity for service.