Happy Birthday to Rotary 111 Years
Posted by Farhad Taleghani
on Feb 16, 2016
Why Rotary is my religion
To me Rotary means PEACE. At no other time in my life span has this goal meant more to the world than today. When Paul Harris founded Rotary in Chicago, he did it for one main reaon: to connect to the community by Serving others. In my extensive travels through out Europe and Asia as well as Central America, I have observed many flavors of this noble notion. Not all countries and even more so not all Clubs are the same. The aspirations, goals, and achievments vary from Club to Club. But one main goal seems to resonate among all humans beings: It is better to Serve than to be Served. Our small club was one of the first in the world that had Chartered Women members and we are proud of that. We call our Club, not your father's Club. My father started Rotary in a middle east country that later labeled Rotary as an instrument of US intellegance, hence its demise. My son, unknown to me, is joining a young club in the city where he lives in as he feels he needs to connect to the community. I personally joined in 1989 for business reasons and it did help but it also shaped my outlook on life.
As in any other organization, the chemistry of associations change through time as the leadership changes. The human connection aspect of the Rotary and the Service goals are always the glue that keeps this noble cause moving forward. Our organization is tied in so many ways with UN with local clubs in 162+ countries. The Rotary International (RI) approach in eradicting Polio with our PolioPlus drive has become the d standard in dealing with world wide efforts to help others.
I hope you will join us in many of our exciting meetings and more importantly help us with our local and international activities. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ROTARY Feb 23rd, 111 Years