What Does It Mean Being A Rotarian?

By Pablo Ruiz

Much of what is said in this book is the legacy of what the founder of Rotary International said or was literally picked up during his readings in the various conferences that Paul Harris performed throughout his life. It is an extraction from the book Honoring our Past: the words and wisdom of Paul Harris. Having said this, we draw our own reflections and expanded the concepts in good faith trying to follow the path and Rotary philosophy of our Founder. Those who are part of this project called Rotary play a leading role in this epic endeavor that we undertake to overcome inequalities in a world of need.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pablo Ruiz
• Release date: Aug 23, 2012
• ISBN: 9788461602414

Book preview

Preface

A summary of Rotarianism

When we set out to write this book, we were told that it was necessary to write an authors’ preface, and we thought about the piece written by Pablo and agreed by the whole family. It is an article that we believe summarises the role that a Rotarian should play and was written as the result of a reflection on the awarding of three Paul Harris Fellow awards to three of our members, all from the same family.

On 16 December 2011, the Rotary Club of Jerez had the great honour of welcoming three Paul Harris Fellows at the same time and from the same Ruiz-Amo family: Carolina, Pedro and Pablo (with even greater satisfaction because December is Rotary’s family month). The awarding of these three Paul Harris Fellow awards, has undoubtedly given us great joy, and has also made us reflect. We will try to explain here our reaction and what we have discussed in the bosom of our family.

Those who are part of this project called Rotary play a leading role in this epic endeavour that we undertake to overcome inequalities in a world of need. As a result, all Rotarians feel proud when these goals are achieved in the face of understandable difficulties. Rotary and its activities have undoubtedly changed and continue to change its image to the world. The engine of sacrifice and friendship that we have always encouraged at Rotary is a powerful force that is very difficult to stop. On this occasion, it is fitting to reiterate our appreciation to everybody at the Rotary Club of Jerez who were responsible for managing the construction of the Alzheimer’s centre at a cost of approximately 3.5 million euros. Today, the building has become a reality in the city, having been built with many sacrifices and considerable work. For this, we must give our thanks, take our hats off and give real credit to all former members of the Rotary Club of Jerez for the hard work and service they have provided to the community.

In current times, we cannot overlook the fact that in society, public authorities and governments in general do not satisfy or alleviate those needs, and consequently, Rotary plays a key role as a tool to contribute to the welfare of the less fortunate. This crisis of principles, which we are also experiencing, can be explained by the decreasing importance of the debate on ethical ideas, especially aimed at the youngest, who, we must not forget, are the future of society. Unfortunately, it is often replaced by selfishness and materialism in a society where anything goes and scruples do not exist.

This ethical deterioration of people severely affects the nucleus of society and the image of the family, as shown in all public opinion surveys. Those of us who have the greatest responsibilities in social matters and are fortunate to belong to Rotary cannot remain indifferent to this cruel reality. We must act with courage and determination with the aim of radically changing this perception of citizens. If we do not, we are not fulfilling our basic responsibilities as true Rotarians and it will be our children and other young people today who will one day remind us what our responsibilities were.

To achieve the highest levels of credibility in Rotary, we must all make an effort to change some of our behaviour. With today’s modern technology, such as social networks, we are increasingly becoming interconnected and well informed. They provide an excellent means by which to proclaim from the rooftops the true and ethical path that society must take and follow. In particular, we must put aside any signs of arrogance that prevents us from conversing with humility to people about their everyday lives, which are often harsh and dramatic. Through these actions, Rotarians will always welcome serious approaches with the aim of achieving greater levels of transparency and austerity. Always with the ethical denominator as the basis for everything Rotarian and in this way, we must take very concrete steps, and take them forward through the club.

Moreover, as our founder Paul Harris said, it is essential to respect, listen to and promote discussion of the ideas of other members. Without ideas, Rotary's work would make no sense and lose impetus, and its projects would become sterile. The Club is the ideal place in which we can and should discuss major issues and projects. Education and the true Rotary spirit demand a vigorous exchange of ideas and opinions. One of the foundations of Rotary is its diversity of approaches and sensibilities.

The Rotarian must be very tolerant and respectful of the diversity of ideas of others, with the ethical imperative which consists of defending the convictions of everybody and always with humility and tolerance, as the ethical success of our projects is obligatory, and always based on a consensus of all members and friends of the club. All clubs are engaged in many projects that need to be discussed, proposed and agreed by all members and of course always with the aim of achieving a high level of transparency. Clubs need ambitious projects to further Rotary’s objectives. During the Rotary year, clubs will have the full support of the district as a system of help and advice, not to mention the support of Rotary International, which provides us with the necessary expertise and advice to increase the level of efficiency and work with our community.

In the Rotarian year, it should be the true work and project schedule to carry out, therefore, we have to work and progress in many areas, especially with regard to the most vulnerable. Unfortunately, people cannot choose many things, such as place of birth, skin colour, etc. But we are free to take a certain path and this should be the common denominator for all Rotarians, as we are leaders in our fields and professions and we help society with our time and example. This is without doubt one of Rotary’s most satisfying and successful achievements. Step by step with work, willingness and ethics, together with friendship, every member can take on important challenges with the belief that the spirit of teamwork can enable us to reach the highest possible goals.

Rotarians should be grateful for the opportunity of friendship that the club offers. Most members are directly or indirectly influential people in their cities, with whom we have shared unforgettable days, whether working towards carrying out projects or simply enjoying a conversation over one of the clubs fraternal meals. We have had the great honour of receiving a Paul Harris Fellow. As human beings, this always has an understandable element of vanity, but also makes us feel a degree of future responsibility for all of our activities within our Club in particular and within Rotary in general. For this reason, we would like to take advantage of the sincere gratitude and expressions of support and kindness that we have always received from all of the members of the Rotary Club of Jerez since the beginning. As we have mentioned before, all of this brings us responsibility and the commitment to improve and undertake all of the duties associated with our Club and Rotary.

To conclude, I would like to say that this is a very special moment for me and my family, for having been awarded the three Paul Harris Fellow awards at the same time (father and two children). It will undoubtedly involve consciously assuming an enormous responsibility to improve and continue working for our community, and clearly understanding that the main responsibility is to our Club and the needs that surround us. We must meet this challenge, knowing that from today, we have considerable work to do because, as Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said, our help will always be like a drop in an ocean of needs and sometimes we feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean, but the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.

Carolina, Pablo y Pedro Ruiz

Club de Jerez / Spain / District 2203

16 December 2011: Three members of the Ruiz-Amo family (father and two children) received Paul Harris Fellow awards, Rotary Club of Jerez / Spain, District 2203.

In the picture the Ruiz Amo Family with their Godfathers

So Take action Now! Discover more about Rotary International and how you can help today at: http://www.rotary.org/

Thank You Very Much & We Hope You Enjoy Our Book!

16 December 2011: Three members of the Ruiz-Amo family (father and two children) received Paul Harris Fellow awards, Rotary Club of Jerez / Spain, District 2203.

In the picture the Ruiz Amo Family with their Godfathers

(From left to right)

1-Federico Basáñez

2-Pedro Ruiz

3-Carolina Ruiz

4-Pablo Ruiz

5-Manuel Caballero

Contents

Chapter -1- Who is Paul Harris? His biography

Chapter -2- The legacy of Paul Harris: Progress

Chapter -3- The legacy of Paul Harris: Observations on Life

Chapter -4- The legacy of Paul Harris: Life’s lesson Service above self

Chapter -5- The legacy of Paul Harris: Peace

Chapter -6- The legacy of Paul Harris: Fulfillment: Do you work to live or live to work

Chapter -7- The legacy of Paul Harris: Vocational Service

Chapter -8- The legacy of Paul Harris: Community Service

Chapter -9- The legacy of Paul Harris: Values

Chapter -10- The legacy of Paul Harris: Brotherhood and World Understanding

Chapter -11- The legacy of Paul Harris: Ethics

Chapter -12- The legacy of Paul Harris: Success

Chapter -13- The legacy of Paul Harris: Persistence

Chapter -14- The legacy of Paul Harris: The Ideal of Service

Chapter -15- The legacy of Paul Harris: Inspiration

Chapter -16- The legacy of Paul Harris: Tolerance

Chapter -17- The legacy of Paul Harris: On His Role in Rotary

Chapter -18- The legacy of Paul Harris: Future of Rotary

Chapter -19- The legacy of Paul Harris: Administration of Rotary

Chapter -20- The legacy of Paul Harris: On Rotary

Chapter -21- The legacy of Paul Harris: Classifications

Chapter -22- The legacy of Paul Harris: Official Magazine

Chapter -23- The legacy of Paul Harris: International Relations

Chapter -24- The legacy of Paul Harris: Advice to Rotarians and Rotarianism

Chapter -25- The legacy of Paul Harris: Knowledge

Chapter -26- The legacy of Paul Harris: Friendship

Chapter -27- The legacy of Paul Harris: New Generations

Chapter -28- The legacy of Paul Harris: Final Words

Bibliography

In the picture the Rotary Club of Jerez / Spain, District 2203.

Chapter -1-

Who is Paul Harris?

His biography

WHAT IS ROTARY?

It is a worldwide private organisation that awards the largest number of educational scholarships.

It is the world’s largest NGO. (Non Govermental Organisation)

It is a worldwide organisation of volunteers composed of business and professional leaders who provide humanitarian service in their communities and promote the development of goodwill and peace.

Its main programme today is the eradication of polio in the world.

Who is Paul Harris?

Biography of Paul Harris, who was the founder of Rotary Club International. Paul Percy Harris, who was born on 19 April 1868 and died on 27 January 1947, was an American lawyer from Chicago who founded Rotary International in 1905. Paul Harris was born in Racine, Wisconsin, USA, on 19 April 1868, the second of six children by George N. Harris and Cornelia Bryan Harris. At the age of three, he moved to Wallingford, Vermont, where he grew up in the care of his paternal grandparents.

His family upbringing

He grew up in the care of his paternal grandparents for financial reasons. Although his father made great efforts to support her family, as a small shopkeeper, he frequently needed the financial assistance of his father, and in July 1871, Harris and his older brother, Cecil, had to go and live with his paternal grandparents in Wallingford , Vermont. Curiously, it seems that he was expelled twice during his schooling. The first time, he was expelled for bad behaviour. He was a naughty child and an itinerant student. He attended primary school in Wallingford and secondary school in Rutland, where he used to play pranks and regularly missed classes. He also attended Black River Academy in Ludlow, but was expelled after a few weeks. The second time he was expelled was from Vermont Military Academy, for his behaviour as a member of an underground society. After attending the military academy, Harris enrolled at the University of Vermont in Burlington. In 1886, he and three others were expelled for their conduct as members of an underground society. Paul Harris later wrote: I ably assisted in the organization of an underground society for the subjugation of unruly freshmen. The operations of this clandestine organization gave new color to life at the University. President Buckham became conscious of the change and banished four of the organization’s most faithful workers from college. I was one of the four. I was not guilty of the particular atrocity for which I was expelled but my conduct richly deserved the punishment. During the remainder of the school year, Paul studied with a private tutor paid for by his grandfather, and in September 1887, recommenced studies at Princeton University. This time however was cut short by the death of his grandfather in March 1888. Although Harris finished the semester, he did not return for the following academic year. After the death of his grandfather, Harris worked for a year at Sheldon Marble Co. in West Rutland. His grandmother encouraged him to honour his grandfather by working hard and earning an honest living. He worked for a year at a law firm in Des Moines, Iowa, and subsequently studied at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, where he graduated with a law degree in June 1891. Years later, the University of Vermont apologised to Paul Harris for having expelled him from the faculty and awarded him an honorary PhD in Law.

He was raised in a family setting in New England.

Harris was raised by his grandparents, seeing his parents only rarely, and learned to revere the family values that characterised the New England of his childhood and adolescence. In October 1928, when he returned to his boyhood home to celebrate the founding of the Rotary Club of Wallingford, he proclaimed, Much that there is in Rotary today can be traced back to the good old New England family table.

Marriage

After a brief courtship, Paul married the Scottish-born Jean Thompson on 2 July 1910 in Chicago. In 1912, they purchased a house on Longwood Drive in Morgan Park, which, at the time, was a suburb of Chicago. The Harrises named their house Comely Bank after the street in Edinburgh where Jean had lived as a child. They entertained friends from Chicago and around the world, and hosted meetings and reunions of the Rotary Club of Chicago. Weather permitting, many gatherings took place outside, in what they referred to as their Garden of Friendship. The couple never had children, and Jean often joined Harris during his travels to Rotary clubs worldwide. After Harris died, Jean briefly continued to live at Comely Bank. She later sold the house and, in 1955, returned to her native Edinburgh, where she died in 1963.

He studied law and practised as a lawyer throughout his life

After the death of his grandfather in 1888, Harris spent a year working for the Sheldon Marble Company in West Rutland. His grandmother encouraged him to work hard and live honourably for his grandfather’s sake. He then spent a year working at the law firm of St. John, Stevenson and Whisenand in Des Moines, Iowa. After his apprenticeship, he attended the University of Iowa in Iowa City and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws in June 1891.

His travels

Between 1891 to 1896, Harris worked many different jobs, in particular, in the marble industry and on cattle ships that travelled to Europe. In 1896, Harris settled in Chicago, where he opened a law practice in the central business district. He remained active in his professional practice to one degree or another for more than four decades, even after he retired.

His spiritual life

Harris sought meaningful personal and spiritual relationships. He customarily attended religious services on Sundays but visited many different churches rather than aligning himself exclusively with one congregation. Later in his life, he said that his religious affiliations were, like himself, difficult to pigeonhole. I really have no church affiliations… I am not easily classified; that is to say my convictions are not that of that definite nature essential to whole-hearted affiliation with the general run of churches.

The origins of Rotary

In 1896, he settled in Chicago to practise law. One evening, Paul visited the home of a friend in the suburbs. After dinner, they went for a stroll through the neighbourhood; Paul’s friend introduced him to various shopkeepers in their stores. This was when he had the idea of forming a club that could capture the friendly spirit among businessmen in small communities.

How Rotary began

The first Rotary Club was formed on 23 February 1905 by Harris and other businessmen: Silvester Schiele, a coal merchant, Gustavus Loehr, a mining engineer and Hiram Shorey, a tailor. At the first Rotary Club meeting on 23 February 1905 in Room 711 of the Unity Building, 127 N Deerborn Street, Chicago, Paul Harris, Gustavus Loehr, Hiram Shorey and Silvester Schiele talked about their personal experiences and Paul Harris announced his plan for club meetings. He was 37 years old.

The name Rotary

The name originated from the custom of holding meetings on a rotational basis at members’ offices. On 23 February 1905, Harris formed the first club. After three meetings, the turnout was much larger and Schiele was elected the first president of the Club. Albert White was the second President of the Club. Harris declined to exercise a leadership role until February 1907 when he was elected third President of the Club of Chicago, a position that he held until the autumn of 1908. During his presidency, the Executive Committee was formed and later renamed the Ways and Means Committee.

Summary of his work

Paul was noted for his professional as well as civic work. He served as the first chairman of the board of the Easter Seal Society of Crippled Children and Adults in the United States and the International Society for Crippled Children. He was a member of the board of directors of the Chicago Bar Association and its delegate at the International Congress of Comparative Law in The Hague. He received the Golden Buffalo Award from the Boy Scouts of America for his distinguished service to youth and was decorated by the governments of Brazil, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France and Peru.

The result of his work

Paul kept his law practice for the rest of his life. He spent considerable time travelling and was invited to speak to Rotarians at annual conventions and district and regional meetings, and other functions. By the time Harris died on 27 January 1947, his dream had grown from an informal meeting of four men to some 6,000 clubs. In the past five decades, the organisation has grown to over 33,000 clubs and its membership exceeds the figure of 1,250,000 in 200 countries, brought together by the vision of service and fellowship conceived by Harris.

Harris died in Chicago on 27 January 1947 at the age of 78 after a long illness.

Rotary in history

First club formed in Chicago on 23 February 1905.

Second Rotary Club formed in San Francisco in 1908.

In 1910, there were 16 Rotary Clubs. The first Rotary Convention was held in Chicago.

In 1910, the first club outside the U.S.A. was formed in Winnipeg (Canada).

In 1915, the first Latin American club was founded in Havana.

In 1919, the first Asian club was founded in Manila.

In 1921, the first clubs were formed in:

- Continental Europe/Madrid.

- Africa/Johannesburg.

- Oceania/Melbourne.

In 1928, the Rotary Foundation was founded.

In 1946, under the auspices of Rotary International, UNESCO was created.

In 1947, the founder of Rotary, Paul Harris, died. The Rotary Foundation awarded its first scholarships.

In 1968, the first Rotaract Club was founded.

Chapter -2-

The legacy of Paul Harris: Progress

Paul Harris