About Us:

The worlds first service club, the Rotary Club of Chicago, Illinois, was formed on February 23, 1905 by Paul Harris, an attorney who wished to recapture in a professional club the same friendly spirit he had felt in the small towns of his youth. The name "Rotary" derived from the early practice of rotating meetings among members' offices. By 1921, Rotary clubs had been formed on six continents, and the organization adopted the name Rotary International a year later.

As Rotary grew, its mission expanded beyond serving the professional and social interests of club members. Rotarians began pooling their resources and contributing their talents to help serve community needs. The organization's dedication to this ideal is best expressed in its principal motto: "Service Above Self". Rotary later embraced a code of ethics, called "The 4-Way Test" that has been translated into hundreds of languages.

Today, 1.2 million Rotarians belong to some 32,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas. The object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprises.