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What Paul Harris Said – December 25, 2005

“My lady Jean and I feel that we have been singularly blest in the opportunity which Rotary has afforded us to win the friendship of thousands of men of many nations and thus assure ourselves of the fact that the concept of Peace on Earth; goodwill to all men, is not an idle dream but that peace is sure to come.”

Paul P. Harris,
Pages 270-271 from "My Road to Rotary",

Purchase your copy of My Road to Rotary
from RI at http://shop.rotary.org/catalog/

Part of the mission statement of The Rotary Foundation is achieving world peace and understanding.  Paul Harris wrote the words above as the world was emerging from a devastating war. 

Rotarians believe that through our strong Rotary Foundation programs (Scholarships, Matching Grants and Group Study Exchange), that "Peace on Earth; goodwill to all men, is not an idle dream but that peace is sure to come.”

What Paul Harris Said – December 17, 2005

“It is a man's job to be a good Rotarian and he who lives up to the precepts will be a good neighbor, a kind friend, a loving husband, a companionable father and an asset to the community in which he lives.”

Paul P. Harris
Message to the Rotary Club of New Orleans,
May 1917

Almost 89 years have passed since Paul Harris spoke those words at a meeting of the Rotary Club of New Orleans. 

The combined effort of Rotarians worldwide in response to the recent multiple worldwide disasters punctuate that statement – good Rotarians, good neighbors and kind friends - helping.  Rotarians do make a difference.

What Paul Harris Said – December 10, 2005

“Rotary is simple, genuine, true. It abhors deceit and pretentiousness, and had rather run the risk of under-rating than to run the risk of over-extolling its own virtues.”

Paul P. Harris
Message to the
Rotary Club of New Orleans,
May 1917

In 1917 and for most of the 20^th century Rotary preferred acting anonymously.  In 2000 President Frank Devlyn’s theme was “Create Awareness – Take Action” and he advocated through a major public relations campaign - sharing Rotary’s incredible gifts to the world with the world. 

What Paul Harris Said – December 4, 2005

“The ramifications of Rotary are beyond imagina­tion. Nearly every phase of modern life is influenced and the outlook of members is broadened, and through it all there is the benign influence of fellowship, which sweetens life. These are a few of the many reasons why Rotarians value their membership.”

Paul P. Harris
My Road to Rotary,

Purchase your copy of My Road to Rotary
from RI at http://shop.rotary.org/catalog/

How do you value your membership?  Do you share Rotary?  Have you sponsored a friend, an associate or a neighbor into your club?

What Paul Harris Said – November 26, 2005 

“Rotary has actually become part of the civic life of 60 nations [Editor’s note: now 168].  Rotary stands; though the tempest rage about — Rotary still stands.

Why and how? Because it is grounded not on fear, rivalry, and suspicion, but on the eternal and indestructible rocks of friendliness, tolerance, and usefulness.”

Paul P. Harris,
Message to 1940 RI Convention,
Havana, Cuba

November is Rotary Foundation Month

Friendliness, tolerance, understanding and peace!  Our Group Study Exchange Program (GSE) promotes those sentiments.

Since 1965 when the Group Study Exchange program was first established, Our Foundation has enabled business and professional men and women to participate in vocational activities in countries other than their own for the expressed purpose of building goodwill, peace and world understanding.

Almost 48,000 individuals (more than 11,000 teams) from more than 100 countries have participated at a cost of $85 million. That is a lot of Rotary Foundation Alumni.  Have you invited those GSE Alumni to join your club?

Rotarians continue to make a difference through their Rotary Foundation.

What Paul Harris Said – November 20, 2005

"Individual efforts when well directed can accomplish much, but the greatest good must necessarily come from the combined efforts of many men.  Individual efforts may be turned to individual needs but combined effort should be dedicated to the service of mankind.   

The power of combined effort knows no limitation.”                                                                                             

Paul P. Harris,
The Rotarian,
July 1917

November is Rotary Foundation Month

Raising funds for Our Foundation is a combined effort.  The Every Rotarian, Every Year program exemplifies that effort.

The Every Rotarian, Every Year initiative began on 1 July 2004, encouraging every Rotarian to make an annual contribution of US$100 or more to the Foundation’s Annual Programs Fund.

Achieving the US$100 per capita annual giving goal will enable the Foundation to meet the need for humanitarian and educational programs identified by Rotary clubs and districts worldwide.

What Paul Harris Said – November 5, 2005

“Is it not a miracle that Rotary has brought together good and influential men of all civilized countries? And is it not gratifying to know that there is a platform broad enough for all men to stand on? And is it not heartwarming to know that men of diverse faiths and allegiances can find so much in each other, which is wholesome and good?

Rotary is an integrating force in a world where disintegrating forces are far more numerous.”

Paul P. Harris

THE ROTARIAN,

June 1944

November is Rotary Foundation Month

Rotary is an integrating force in a world where disintegrating forces are far more numerous.  It is Our Rotary Foundation programs that are helping us to achieve world understanding and peace. 

Our TRF Matching Grants projects have brought hope for a better life to people since 1965, with nearly 20,000 grants awarded, totaling more than US$198 million.

The District Rotary Foundation Committees working club-to-club and district-to-district are the catalysts for our Matching Grants Programs.   

Is it not heartwarming to know that Rotarians of diverse faiths and allegiances can find so much in each other, which is wholesome and good?  Rotarians are changing the world through their Foundation.

What Paul Harris Said – November 5, 2005

“Whatever Rotary may mean to us, to the world it will be known by the results it achieves.”

Paul P. Harris

Message to the 1914 RI Convention

Houston, Texas

USA

November is Rotary Foundation Month 

Achieving results?  How about Our Rotary Foundation sponsoring one of the largest and most international of scholarship programs in the world?

Following RI founder Paul Harris’ death in 1947; Rotarians worldwide gave the Foundation more than US$1 million, enabling it to launch its first program: international scholarships for graduate students.

When this graduate fellowship plan was initiated in 1947 eighteen graduate students from seven countries left their home areas to study in 10 different countries and serve as ambassadors of goodwill.

This has evolved into the Rotary Fellows/Ambassadorial Scholarships Program and today the Ambassadorial Scholarships program allows undergraduate and graduate students to study abroad while serving as ambassadors to the people of their host country. The students give presentations about their homelands to Rotary clubs and other groups and share their experiences upon returning home.  To date, almost 40,000 scholarships have been awarded at a cost of almost US$500 million and this program is due to the generosity of Rotarians worldwide supporting The Annual Programs Fund of the Rotary Foundation. 

Forty thousand scholarships add up to a lot of Rotary Foundation Alumni.  Have you made an effort to invite those scholarship alumni to join your club?

Yes we are achieving results and yes we can do more.  Scholarship alumni in addition to being a powerful addition to your club would also welcome the opportunity to contribute (to give back) to Our Rotary Foundation.

What Paul Harris Said – October 29, 2005

“The greatest resource which a nation can have is the resource of peace; it counts for more than arable lands, more than mines of untold riches.”

Paul P. Harris
Message to 1927 RI Convention,
Belgium

November is Rotary Foundation Month

Our Rotary Foundation has overcome armed conflicts, political instability, economic adversity, and other barriers to help people in need, thereby promoting world understanding and peace.

And the membership of Rotary International supports Our Foundation through the Every Rotarian, Every Year Annual Programs Fund Initiative in promoting world understanding and peace.

What Paul Harris Said – October 23, 2005

“What Rotary will be one hundred years hence, none living can imagine. There is nothing impossible to Rotary now.”

Paul P. Harris
THE ROTARIAN,
February 1915

November is Rotary Foundation Month

Arch C. Klumph (RI President 1916-17) wrote these words for the Rotarian Magazine in January 1935.  “.. There are tens of thousands of Rotarians who will look upon this opportunity (Building the Rotary Foundation) as a real privilege, men who feel that Rotary has done much for them, who sincerely believe in its purposes and objects.

Then there are other men who are seeking ways and means of leaving some part of their wealth where it may do the greatest good for humanity. What better equipped organization or institution than Rotary International can be found to be entrusted with such funds?”

What other organization encourages its contributors to plan, partner and participate in its projects through its Foundation?  Our Rotary Foundation does that and helps Rotarians in their quest to achieve world understanding and peace through its educational, cultural and humanitarian programs.

There is nothing impossible for The Rotary Foundation now.

What Paul Harris Said – October 15, 2005

“With so many capable and devoted friends, all feeling responsibility for the future of Rotary, we may reasonably expect to turn out a piece of twentieth century mechanism which will constitute an agreeable surprise to ourselves and to the rest of the world.”

Paul P. Harris
The National Rotarian,
November 1911

At the organization conference of the United Nations held in San Francisco in 1945, the United States delegation invited Rotary International to appoint consultants.

Rotary was one of the original 42 NGO's invited to participate and twelve prominent Rotarians served in this capacity with resulting influence on the humane aspects of the Charter. Rotarians at San Francisco also helped re-write the preamble (We the peoples rather than we the states) and articles on ECOSOC.

Rotary Day at the UN, 5 November 2005

Rotary Day at the UN in New York is quickly approaching. Rotarians and their friends are invited to a unique opportunity to visit the United Nations headquarters in New York and participate in panel discussions featuring leaders and officials from the UN, UN-affiliated nongovernmental organizations and Rotary International.

This event is sponsored each year by the RI Representatives to the United Nations in New York. The deadline for registration is 22 October and there will be NO on-site registration.

Click below for more information and how to register for Rotary Day at the UN.

http://www.rotary.org/aboutrotary/international.html

What Paul Harris Said – October 8, 2005

“Rotary must not content itself with being anything less than a movement affecting the lives of all men.”

Paul P. Harris,
From the book, THE FOUNDER OF ROTARY

World Food Day, 16 October 2005

The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) celebrates World Food Day on the date of its founding, marking its 58th Anniversary this year. The theme for this year’s World Food Day, "Agriculture and intercultural dialogue," highlights the contribution of different cultures to world agriculture and argues that sincere intercultural dialogue is a precondition for progress against hunger and environmental degradation.

The mission of the Rotary Foundation is world peace and understanding.

Working together to build and implement anti-hunger programs has always concerned the Rotary world.

Dr. Edward “Eddie” Blender
Editor, WPHS
PDG D5470
Vail - Eagle Valley Rotary

What Paul Harris Said – October 1, 2005

What Paul Harris Said – September 24, 2005

“Since the beginning of civilization, there has been a surplus of sayers of things. If there is any one particular in which I would have Rotary distinguished from other organizations, it is in the quality of charac­ter, which results in the doing of things.”

Paul Harris
Message to 1921 RI Convention,
Edinburgh, Scotland

As the Rotary Year unfolds how often have you watched the Naysayers and Yea-sayer battle one another?  Stop that nonsense and ask all to consider the “Four-way Test” in all they say and do.

Rotary is distinguished from other organizations; it is in the quality of its character, which results in the doing of things.

What Paul Harris Said – September 17, 2005

“There is a secret, of course, to Rotary's remarkable success, and I don't mind letting it be known.

Rotary has succeeded because in Rotary the standing of a man depends upon his deeds, not his creeds; and because its course leads toward the brightest and most alluring human objectives: the brotherhood of man.”

Paul P. Harris
Message to the Rotary Club of New York, USA, 1922

Our objective: The brotherhood of man and world understanding and peace!

Through our Foundation programs success is sealed and achieved through the firm handshake, the embrace and true tolerance.  Rotarians understand and meet together and work together (one on one) towards achieving true brotherhood.

Edward Everett Hale put it well: "It’s true I am only one. But I am one. And the fact that I cannot do everything will not prevent me from doing what I can do."

Think how much better the world would be if more of us did what we could do.

What Paul Harris Said – September 10, 2005

Rotary must be creative and not merely receptive. The genius (of Rotary) must be directed to the task of finding new ways and means of making practical the term “The Brotherhood of Man.”

Paul P. Harris
My Road to Rotary

In less then a blink of the eye Rotarians began responding to the Hurricane Katrina Catastrophe.  Food and water was immediately collected and shipped. Shelter Boxes were flown in from England. Medical and Dental Teams began volunteering to help. Rotarians from Mexico City began shipping multiple containers of UHT MILK on a daily basis.  Each container holding 60,000 liters of Ultra pasteurized milk and the milk is shelf stable packaged. Clubs last week began "passing the hat" and collecting relief dollars (my club collected US$900 and another in Grand Junction, Colorado USA collected US$30,000).

For more information on relief efforts and other ways to help, please visit RI's World Community Service Disaster Relief page and check the RI home page frequently for updates

What Paul Harris Said – September 3, 2005

“I have no hesitation in saying that world peace could be achieved and made permanent if reared on Rotary's firm foundation of friendliness, tolerance, and usefulness.”

Paul P. Harris
Message to 1940 RI Convention, Havana, Cuba

Yes, world peace and understanding and Rotarians at the forefront.

At the International Assembly in Anaheim (FEB 2005) President Carl-Wilhelm Stenhammar stated: “Like many others, I have a dream. My dream is that every 17-year-old could become an exchange student. If the world could achieve this, there would be no more wars! …We have today about 8,000 youth exchanges, but we are 31,000-plus Rotary clubs. I urge you during 2005-06 to inspire each club in your district to engage itself in our Youth Exchange program.”

Adding to President Stenhammar’s message, we urge you to get involved in Rotary Youth Exchange Programs - by hosting a student in your home, or by encouraging others in your club to do so.

What Paul Harris Said – August 27, 2005

“We care about other people - whether we know them personally or simply as fellow human beings whom we may never meet.

“We care about our communities . . . the community in which we live and all those many thousands of other communities that make up our global village.

“We care about the world in which we live . . . its trees, its plants and animals, its lakes, rivers, and oceans, and its people, who, after all, are just like us. Like the rays of the beautiful rainbow, the world is comprised of caring people, just like us. We care about our world today and we care just as deeply about its future.

“You and I care, and Rotary cares, and that is why I am so proud to be a Rotarian."

James Lacy

Rotary International President 1998-99

Yes, we do care and through our International theme for 2005-06 -- “SERVICE ABOVE SELF” Rotarians continue to make a difference.

What Paul Harris Said – August 20, 2005

A true spirit of service is capable of working a world's redemption.

Paul P. Harris
The Rotarian, March 1918

President Carl-Wilhelm at the International Assembly (February 2005) stated during his theme address (and was rewarded with a standing ovation):  “In our efforts to work for a better world, we need a leading star to follow, a theme that we can all fix upon. Over the years we have had many different themes: ……Enjoy Rotary! Be a Friend, Lend a Hand, Celebrate Rotary, just to mention a few of them. Each and every one of these themes was, or is, perfect for its time.

I would like to be modern. I would like to recycle, and I also want to promote continuity. Therefore, I have chosen the best motto ever created for Rotary International: Service Above Self”

It’s as true today as it was in 1911 when Frank Collins, presented a speech at the Portland Convention and one phrase, “service not self” stuck.

A true spirit of service is capable of working a world's redemption. Rotarians through “Service Above Self” do make a difference.

What Paul Harris Said – August 13, 2005

From time immemorial the greatest of the great have proclaimed by word and deed their adherence to the doctrine, which Rotary has summed up in the words, "Service Above Self."

Who shall say that the Rotary goal is unattainable?

Paul P. Harris
My Road to Rotary

Service Above Self, unattainable?

Unattainable? That is unthinkable for Rotarians. In clubs throughout the world small and large Humanitarian projects are completed with a firm handshake as Rotarians work to make a difference, building goodwill and understanding worldwide.

What Paul Harris Said – August 6, 2005

THE WAY TO PEACE

This week marks 60 years (6 August 1945) when the first Atomic Bomb was used against a civilian population. 

Eddie Blender
Editor

Paul Harris once said, "The way to war is a well-paved highway, and the way to peace is still a wilderness."

Paul P. Harris, From a recorded interview in Tuskegee, Alabama, USA in 1945

It was an August morning in 1945. My mother was to take me to the barber and we were leaving the house. Perhaps my diaper was wet, I cried and my mother took me back inside. Just as she was about to change it, the house was struck by a formidable shock, unlike anything we'd ever experienced. Although she folded me tightly in her arms and got down on the floor, we were blown into a corner of the room by the blast.

After a long moment, she raised her face and looked up to find no ceiling, no roof but only blue sky above. A flying stone had hit her and there was a gash on her forehead. Pressing one hand to the wound on her forehead, she held me in her other arm, and went to ask neighbors for help. What she found was a completely devastated city of Hiroshima, raised to the ground.

Since I was only 8 months old at the time of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, I heard all this from my parents. But because this story has been told to me over and over ever since I can remember, I have come to feel as though I had gone through this horrifying experience myself.

Almost sixty years have passed since humankind saw the atomic bomb disasters of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, as Rotary founder Paul Harris once said, "The way to war is a well-paved highway, and the way to peace is still a wilderness," it seems that an immeasurable amount of time is still needed to realize world peace.

There is a small stone monument in Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, located in the area which was the atomic explosion's epicenter. Words of prayer for the bomb's 150,000 victims are engraved on it, which sincerely pledge, "We will never repeat our mistakes."

I think it is significant that these words were inscribed by the citizens of Hiroshima who suffered the devastating experience. Peace can only be realized when the parties involved in conflict swear jointly, without distinguishing themselves as friend or foe, that they will never repeat past mistakes. Some people might call this idealism, yet I believe it is the only way to pave the path in the wilderness. 

The Centennial of Rotary gives us the opportunity to reflect on how far we have come and reaffirm our stand for peace.

As a member of this organization to which I am proud to belong, I have a firm belief that Rotary will do its utmost to promote peace whenever and wherever possible. It is my sincere hope that we will build a world where the 6 billion people on this globe can someday pledge together, "We will never repeat our mistakes."

What Paul Harris Said – July 30, 2003

“The doctrine of "Service Not Self" has at times been said to be too idealistic to be practicable. Very well, for the sake of argument, concede that to be the case, it cannot be too idealistic to constitute our ideal.

If we aim at the high mark, we may acquit ourselves creditably even if we fall short of our full expectation.”

Paul P. Harris
THE ROTARIAN, September 1912

Aim at the high mark!

President Stenhammar announced in the new Rotary year, clubs and districts will carry on with the presidential emphases already in place: Literacy and water management. Those emphases will include an additional focus of "alleviating hunger and improving the health and well-being of all who are deprived of these essential resources."

Rotarians continue to make a difference.

What Paul Harris Said - For Sunday - July 23, 2005

As long as grass continues to grow green, as long as water continues to flow downhill, so long Rotary will continue to worship its ideal, the ideal of service.

Paul P. Harris
Message to the 1934 Rotary International Convention
Detroit, Michigan, USA

In many clubs throughout the world a new member is inducted and presented with a Rotary pin and a copy of the “Object of Rotary.”

Perhaps it is time to reread aloud to our Rotarians the “Object of Rotary” and to emphasize to our clubs - the ideal of service and the opportunity for service.

What Paul Harris Said - For Sunday - July 17, 2005

“The only way anyone can prove his love of his fellowman is through service to his fellowman.”

Paul P. Harris
THE ROTARIAN, February 1921

RI President Carl Stenhammar, at the International Assembly in Anaheim, California, USA, on 19 February 2005, selected “Service Above Self” as this year’s theme.

Stating: “In our efforts to work for a better world, we need a leading star to follow, a theme that we can all fix upon - I have chosen the best motto ever created for Rotary International: “Service Above Self.”

This theme emphasizes and punctuates the tradition of Rotarians continuing in Paul Harris’ words, “service to his fellowman.”

What Paul Harris Said - For Sunday - July 10, 2005

“Rotary must make haste even to keep up; but we must do more, we must lead.”

Paul P. Harris
Message to 1917 RI Convention
Atlanta, Georgia USA

In London this week, four blasts occurred at several points along the city's densely populated underground system and on a bus in the city's center, causing deaths and injuries. Britain's prime minister, Tony Blair, blamed terrorists, whom he described as “barbaric”.

One of our History Fellowship’s Directors Calum Thomson wrote…. “Just a day after we in Britain were celebrating London winning the 2012 Olympics, this happens.  Of course, it’s deliberately timed to coincide with the G8 Summit at Gleneagles, Scotland where the subject of Africa will arise and campaigns such as "Make Poverty History" have been pushing the case for more aid, debt relief and fair trade.”

How will Rotarians react? Rotarians, person to person and club to club will answer the need for immediate disaster relief.

And Rotary will hold fast to its principles … “the advancement of international understanding, goodwill and peace.” Those are not merely words but Rotary in action in this often cruel and bloody world.

Understanding through Group Study Exchange and our Youth Exchange programs

Goodwill through our Humanitarian and Educational Programs

Peace and Conflict Resolution through our Rotary World Peace Fellowships

And those are only a few of the things Rotarians will do while extending the hand of friendship and peace and working together with their neighbors worldwide and all committed to making the world a better place.  Rotary will always take the high road.

Paul Harris wrote in the Rotarian, May 1942:

“War cannot go on forever. Peace must and shall come. The years ahead reserve for Rotary a most difficult and arduous task. To heal the wounds of a war-ravished world; to substitute for hate, mutual understanding and tolerance; to create affection where rancor exists; to change enemies into friends and replace excited passion and armed struggle by goodwill and international peace.

“This is the superhuman task we must undertake. This is a task in which Rotary will labor with all its strength, in spite of the fact that . . . we have no instruments other than our principles, nor more strength than our enthusiasm. We are sure of victory because of the great faith that all of us Rotarians have in . . . humanity.”

What Paul Harris Said - For Sunday - July 3, 2005

Ordinary men - EXTRA-ordinary opportunities

A Reminiscence from RIPP Clem Renouf (1978-’79)

In the lead up to my election at the Convention in San Francisco in 1977 I became acutely aware of my roots,  as an ordinary Rotarian in a small Rotary club, and of the opportunity about to be handed to me to reach out  and touch the lives of others, in a way I had never dreamed possible.  I had seen what others had done.

The G.S.E. Program was born in the fertile mind of Ralph Vernon, a member of the Rotary Club of Auckland, New Zealand.

International House in Brisbane stands as a monument to the vision and the dogged determination of Bert Martin (a member of the Rotary Club of Brisbane).

RYLA was not the brain child of a committee or a Rotarian holding high office.  It was the extension of one man’s insight - Brisbane Rotarian Alec Symons, the secretary of the local YMCA, who asked “Why don’t we…?

F.A.I.M. (a World Community Service program which continues to grow in Australia more than forty years after its birth) grew out of the realization of one man (Keith Hopper of the Rotary Club of Inverell) that there were thousands of Rotarians waiting to be asked to help lift the standard of living of people in developing countries.   Thousands of volunteers over the years, serving in foreign lands, attest to his vision.

It was the example of these men and others like them, doing what they could, where they were, with the tools at hand, expressing their idealism through the organizational strength and structure and integrity of our movement, which inspired me to say, at that momentous time in my life:

“I stand before you today, not as a captain of industry from one of the great industrial or commercial cities of the world; not as the head of one of the great institutions of learning, nor as a famous business or  political figure – but as one who has earned his living, as most of you have, in a relatively small community, and has grown up in Rotary in the intimate atmosphere of an average sized club.

I am here because Rotary takes ordinary men, and gives them extra-ordinary opportunities to do more with their lives than they had ever dreamed possible.”

Clem Renouf
Rotary International Past President (1978-79)
Address at the 1977 RI Convention,
San Francisco, California USA

This week in almost 32,000 Rotary clubs throughout the world - our new (2005-06) club presidents might repeat (and heed) RI Past President Clem Renouf’s words:

“I am here because Rotary takes ordinary men, and gives them extra-ordinary opportunities to do more with their lives than they had ever dreamed possible.”

Rotary Club Presidents, this is your opportunity to make a difference. Make the most of it!

What Paul Harris Said - For Sunday - June 26, 2005
A statement of international philosophy

Paul P. Harris
Peregrinations - Volume II,
Pages 130-132, copyright 1935, Jean T. Harris,
Courtesy of the Rotary International archives.

We have this past week completed the most “international” of RI’s meetings – Rotary’s Annual Convention.

The quote is the last paragraph of a two-page essay on how Paul P. Harris sees patriotism in light of Rotary's international scope. The full text is beyond the scope of this message and can be found at: www.whatpaulharrissaid.org/paulharris/international, and the quote comes from his diary of his Australian journey in 1935.

The sensitivity that Paul writes about is another example of why and how Rotary developed and reaches across 167 cultures and countries in a warm embrace of universal friendship.

What Paul Harris Said - For Sunday - June 19, 2005

Tolerance

“Rotary was born of the spirit of tolerance, goodwill and service, all qualities which characterized New England folks of my boyhood days, and I have tried to interpret, so far as lies within me, that faith to other men.”

Paul P. Harris
“My Road to Rotary.”

What might Paul Harris say to us today of tolerance, goodwill and service?

Rotarians, so strong in their belief of goodwill, peace and understanding have historically supported tolerance, goodwill and service.

Certainly no time in our 100 years has tolerance been more needed throughout the world?

Paul Harris might remind us that tolerance begins in our clubs. He might say that it is the subtle tolerance of ideas and expression in our own gatherings and outward in our community where we as Rotarians can have the greatest impact.

He would be proud of our Ambassadorial Scholars and Group Study Exchanges and the Rotary World Peace Centers and the worldwide support of the Annual Programs Fund (supported by Rotarians) that makes these projects – reality.

What Paul Harris Said - For Sunday - June 12, 2005

Evolutionary / Revolutionar

“If Rotary is to realize its proper destiny, it must be evolutionary at all times, revolutionary on occasions.”

Paul Harris
1930 message to the RI Convention

So many believe that 100 years allows time for sitting back and reflection. Not so in Rotary!

The Council on Legislation (COL) in 2001 and 2004 voted to continue a Rotary Pilot Project called the “New Models For Rotary Clubs (NMFRC PP).”

The 190 clubs participating in this pilot project are experimenting with new approaches towards membership, attendance, classification and meetings and will present their findings at the COL in Chicago in 2007 and will offer new enactments and resolutions to our Rotary Constitution.

Many of the resolutions and enactments presented to the COL by the New Models Program will be eye opening and the hope is that the representatives will heed our founder’s words.

“If Rotary is to realize its proper destiny, it must be evolutionary at all times, revolutionary on occasions.”

What Paul Harris Said - For Sunday - June 5, 2005

HIGH STANDARDS

"The importance of placing and maintaining Rotary standards and ideals aloft cannot be overestimated.

The star of hope in the Rotary ethical firmament must be high. It is hardly possible for it to be too high. May it be high enough so that there will always be something to strive for."

Paul P. Harris
The Rotarian, September 1912.

In September 1912 Paul had just finished his two years as president of the National Association of Rotary Clubs.

Now as the President Emeritus of the International Association of Rotary Clubs he was beginning 35 years of stewardship of those high ideas.

How often in the heat of discussion (argument) in our clubs have you felt the temperature turned down when a Rotarian states, “… does that meet the Four-Way Test?”

What Paul Harris Said - For Sunday - May 29, 2005

There was a recent movie that showed Chicago, the birthplace of Rotary, to be a wild town, full of crime, drugs and reckless living.

Here's what Paul Harris had to say about that time:

"Against every evil deed in Chicago which has been announced to the world, there are hundreds of good deeds, unheralded and unknown. What surface disturbances are to a river, crime and corruption are to the life of Chicago. The great current goes on undisturbed.

Rotary needs never be ashamed of the city of its origin.

It was preceded by an illustrious line of movements conceived in the spirit of patriotism and idealism, and supported with enthusiasm and determination.

There could have been no time more opportune than the beginning of the twentieth century for the genesis of such a movement as Rotary, nor a city better suited than virile, aggressive, paradoxical Chicago in which to nurture it, and give it sense of direction."

Paul P. Harris,
Pages 34-35
From "This Rotarian Age", 1935

There will be approximately 50,000 Rotarians in Chicago for our 100^th Anniversary and they will happily celebrate the legacy of Rotary at our International Convention.

Join the Rotary world in Chicago at our International Convention and while participating stop by and visit with us at the Rotary Global History Fellowship booth.

What Paul Harris Said - For Sunday - May 22, 2005

THE POWER OF COMBINED EFFORT KNOWS NO LIMITATION

"Individual efforts when well directed can accomplish much, but the greatest good must necessarily come from the combined efforts of many men.  Individual efforts may be turned to individual needs but combined effort should be dedicated to the service of mankind.

The power of combined effort knows no limitation . . . .On no occasion has the cumulative power of all Rotary even been felt.

We shall strike a mighty blow some day and we thenceforth shall know ourselves."

Paul P. Harris,
The Rotarian, July 1917

Almost 90 years ago when Rotary’s founder Paul P. Harris wrote the word "we" he meant you and I.  Collectively you and I – Rotarians -- we!  The power of combined effort knows no limitation.

By joining your fellow club members and Rotarians worldwide in humanitarian, educational and cultural projects we truly make a difference.

Your $100 contribution to the Polio Eradication Campaign effectively buys over a thousand doses of polio immunization and you should feel the power of this PolioPlus effort and be proud of the fact that a Rotarian in a far away land is squeezing that small vial and in the administration of those two drops and the thousands that follow are our universal and collective effort to eliminate the dreaded killer and crippler of children (polio) from this earth.

We will soon conquer the wild poliovirus. Very soon… “We shall strike a mighty blow some day and we thenceforth shall know ourselves."

It is important for all of us to make our yearly contribution to the 2004-05 Annual Programs Fund as soon as possible so that we together (Every Rotarian, Every Year) will meet our Humanitarian and Educational goals.

What Paul Harris Said - For Sunday - May 15, 2005

“Giving is a habit and well-directed charity a prime virtue. The self-denial it imposes and the spirit that prompts it bring us into sympathetic touch with the afflicted and make better men and better citizens of us all.”

John Poole, RI President 1918-19,
Address to 1919 Rotary Convention,
Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A.

The 2005-06 Rotary Club Presidents are preparing their Every Rotarian, Every Year (EREY) goals. What better place than The Rotary Foundation (TRF) is there to help make a difference in our world through our Annual Programs Fund and Permanent Fund?

In addition, have you personally considered a Rotary Foundation Life Income Agreement, which can provide income for life, tax benefits and a generous gift to The Rotary Foundation?

Are you a Paul Harris Fellow, a Benefactor, a Bequest Society Member, a Major Donor? Why not?

Learn more about TRF at www.rotary.org or call your Rotary Regional Foundation Coordinator or The Rotary Foundation at (847) 866-3100.

What Paul Harris Said - For Sunday - May 8, 2005

“War always is a ghastly blunder; even the winners lose.”

Paul P. Harris,
My Road to Rotary

Our Rotary World Peace Scholarship Program is a positive step to overcome the disastrous blunders in this often cruel and bloody world.

A donation of US $500,000 would endow a Rotary World Peace Scholarship, which would provide a scholarship in your name in perpetuity. Individuals, clubs and districts are encouraged to participate in this endowed (named) scholarship program.

The Rotary District xxxx World Peace Scholarship.

In addition donations in the amount of US $25,000 per year or US $50,000 every other year will support a Rotary World Peace Scholar for study at one of the Rotary Centers for International Studies and you  will be recognized as a Rotary Centers Peacebuilder.

Would you or your club or district consider becoming “A Rotary Centers Peacebuilder?”

What Paul Harris Said - For Sunday - May 1, 2005

“Must the best genius of men be devoted to the science of war and none to the science of averting it?”

Paul P. Harris,
We Must Plan for Peace,
THE ROTARIAN, February 1940

Rotary World Peace Scholars study international relations, conflict resolution and negotiation — providing promising leaders the tools to further the cause of peace.

With the winds of war (in 1940) on the horizon, Paul Harris spoke of averting war!

Rotary is a unique organization and part of the Rotary Foundation’s mission statement is “...achieving world peace and understanding”.

Rotary provides these fully funded (Rotary World Peace) scholarships towards a masters degree in peace and conflict resolution to 70 students yearly

Hosted at seven leading universi­ties around the globe, the  70 Rotary World Peace Scholars study international relations, conflict resolution and negotiation —  providing promising young leaders the tools to further the cause of peace.

What Paul Harris Said - For Sunday - April 24, 2005

“It is easier to interest men in war than in peace; it therefore requires more moral courage to talk peace than war.”

Paul P. Harris,
Rotary Just at the Threshold,
THE ROTARIAN, February 1917

Rotary districts throughout the world (at this moment) are considering candidates for the 2006-08 class of Rotary International Peace Scholars.

In 2002, Rotary launched the Rotary Centers for International Studies in peace and conflict resolution, an innovative program designed to educate tomorrow's peacemakers.

The Rotary Foundation provides fully funded scholarships worth $60,000 towards a master’s degree in peace and conflict resolution to almost 70 students yearly.

This is a yearly US $3.5 million dollar Rotary program and an important and courageous step to world peace.  Has your club advertised this program in your community?  Have you interviewed and nominated someone to your district to compete for this prestigious Rotary Scholarship?

What Paul Harris Said - For Sunday - April 17, 2005

“Travel is a good corrective for mental nearsightedness — if the traveler will cast aside his prejudices.”

Paul P. Harris
Fear and Hate Must Go!
The Rotarian, January 1946

“If the traveler will cast aside his prejudices!” This written by Paul Harris in an article titled “Fear and Hate Must Go!”

Can you think of a more loved Rotary International program then Group Study Exchange (GSE)?

These annual awards are made to paired Rotary districts and provide travel expenses for a team of non-Rotarians (and led by a Rotarian) from a variety of vocations.

GSE is a program of person-to-person contact building world peace and understanding.

Rotarian hosts organize a four- to six-week itinerary of educational and cultural points of interest.

Rotarians from different districts host teams and the team members live and eat and interact on a daily basis (casting aside prejudices) … building international good will, peace and greater understanding.

Since 1965, more than 46,000 individuals (almost 10,600 teams) from more than 100 countries have participated in this Rotary Foundation Program at a cost of more than $82 million.

Well worth it!

What Paul Harris Said - For Sunday - April 10, 2005

“Man-made boundaries crumble when you proffer your hand and heart in the spirit of understanding.”

Joseph A. Abey, Rotary International President, 1961-62
THE ROTARIAN, July 1961

The Rotary Fellows/Ambassadorial Scholarships Program —

As a memorial to Paul Harris after his death in 1947, a graduate fellowship plan was initiated. The first year eighteen graduate students from seven countries left their home to study in 10 different countries and serve as ambassadors of goodwill.

Today the Rotary Foundation sponsors one of the largest and most international scholarship programs in the world. Scholars study in a country other than their own where they serve as unofficial "ambassadors of goodwill, helping to build greater understanding between different cultures”

The Ambassadorial Scholarships program allows undergraduate and graduate students to study abroad while serving as ambassadors to the people of their host country. The students give presentations about their homelands to Rotary clubs and other groups and share their experiences upon returning home.

Since 1947, almost 40,000 scholars from some 110 countries have received Rotary Ambassadorial scholarships at a cost of more than $429 million and the program is celebrated and is known as the largest private scholarship program in the world.

What Paul Harris Said - For Sunday - April 3, 2005

"Dear Rotarians,

Is this not an immense area in which you have many opportunities to expend yourselves for your fellowman?

And whatever other challenge remains in the quest for human advancement - whether in the area of development or liberation - can be grouped under your third category: Humanity - the betterment of humanity.

To work for humani