Why I Became a Rotarian..PP Al LaBorde

In 1994 Laslo Papp,  business associate and friend, invited  Al to lunch which turned out to be his first Rotary meeting.  As time progressed, he attended more meetings and was invited to join Rotary.  At the time, Al was serving his second term as  president of the St. Thomas/St. John Chamber of Commerce a business related interest only entity, and was a member of various organizations so it wasn’t that he needed  any more opportunities  to work for the community. 

He was the last Jr. Chamber of Commerce president and like Rotary, the Jr. Chamber  required participation in community projects.  After he was invited to join Rotary , he found the  greatest difference was the Object of Rotary which had deep meaning  to him because of what:

• it does for the community,
• it did not say to further your business interest
• the 4-way test  is all about

Al feels that the 4-way test was "the icing on the cake"  since it came to mean to him literally, the way you conducted yourself, and the way you treated business people, friends, and anyone in the community.