Was Paul Harris the first president of a Rotary club? No. Was Paul Harris the first president of Rotary International? Yes.

 

There is an easy explanation to this apparent contradiction. Although Paul Harris was the founder and organizer of the first Rotary club in Chicago in 1905, the man selected to be the first president was one of the other founding members, Silvester Schiele. By the year 1910 there were 16 Rotary clubs, which linked up as an organization called the National Association of Rotary Clubs. A couple of years later the name was changed to International Association of Rotary Clubs as Rotary was organized in Winnipeg, Canada, and then in England, Ireland and Scotland. In 1922 the name was shortened to Rotary International. When the first organization of Rotary clubs was created in 1910, Paul Harris was selected as the first president. He served in this position for two years from 1910 until 1912. Thus, the founder of the Rotary idea, who declined to be president of the first club, became the first president of the worldwide organization, Rotary International.

 

 

(Scribe: Bill Rex)

 

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A woman was getting swamped with calls from strangers. A billing service had launched an 800 number that was identical to hers.
When she called to complain, she was told to get a new number. "I've had mine for twenty years," she pleaded. "Couldn't you change yours?"
The company refused, so she said, "Fine. From now on, I'm going to tell everyone who calls that their bill is paid in full."
The company got a new number the next day.
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While visiting Annapolis, a lady tourist noticed several students on their hands and knees assessing the courtyard with pencils and clipboards in hand.
"What are they doing?" she asked the tour guide.
"Each year," he replied with a grin, "the upperclassmen ask the freshmen how many bricks it took to finish paving this courtyard."
When they were out of earshot of the freshmen, the curious lady asked the guide: "So, what's the answer?"
The guide replied: "One."
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The rain was pouring down. And there standing in front of a big puddle outside the pub, was an old Irishman, drenched, holding a stick with a piece of string dangling in the water.A passer-by stopped and asked, "What are you doing?"
"Fishing" replied the old man....
Feeling sorry for the old man, the gent said, "Come in out of the rain and have a drink with me."
In the warmth of the pub, as they sip their whiskeys, the gentleman cannot resist asking, "So how many have you caught today?"
"You're the eighth" said the old man.
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I'm not the easiest guy in the world to get along with. So when our anniversary rolled around, I wanted my wife to know how much I appreciated her tolerating me for the past 20 years. I ordered flowers and told the florist to enclose a card that read, 'Thanks for putting up with me so long.'
When my wife got the delivery, she called me at work.
"Just where do you think you going?" she asked.
"What do you mean?" I said.
She read the card aloud as the florist had written it: "Thanks for putting up with me. So long."
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In California over the weekend, a woman gave birth in a Barnes & Noble bookstore. Apparently she did this in the New Releases section.
I thought you were going to say she gave birth in the C-section.
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Q: Why did the Pope cross the road?
A: He crosses everything.

Q: What's gray, has four legs and a trunk?
A: A mouse on vacation.

Q: What do you call a cow spying on another cow?
A: A steak out.

Q: What happened when the owl lost his voice?
A: He didn't give a hoot.