Rotary Minute - Service There and Here

Rotary Minute, July 23, 2015, Paul Rux

When we talk about Rotary service is our focus as a rule.

We want to be of service to others.  This is the purpose of Rotary – Service above Self.

The focus of our talk about Rotary service is on persons external to our club – as a rule.

We overlook, however, how we are also of service to each other as club members.

Paul Harris founded Rotary in part as a reaction to the social isolation that he saw around him in Chicago:
- as the Industrial Revolution destroyed the sense of community in small towns and rural areas
- as people had to migrate to factories in big cities to get work.

Harris wanted Rotary to be an antidote to this poison of social isolation.  He wanted Rotary to serve the needs of its members for human friendship.

As Aristotle observed, we are “social animals,” and we need each other to be healthy and happy. 

Rotary helps us to meet this very human need as we come together for meetings, projects, and social events.

We are of great service to each other, right, here, and now, in this room as we nurture bonds of loyalty and friendship among us. 

Yes, Rotary has a service focus inside – to its own membership – when we sing happy birthday, or tell jokes, or express concern about missing or sick members.

Yes, Rotary is about service – right here – and right now.