Membership Corner - November 11, 2013

 
Here we are at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month ninety-five years after the Armistice which ended the most horrific conflict in human history up to that point.
 
   It was 13 years after the beginning of the Rotary movement by Paul Harris and a few of his close friends.  Rotary was growing rapidly as many responsible people wanted to right the wrongs of the world.  Early on they developed the Object of Rotary which all clubs need to advance. 
 
This week we will discuss the Second Object of Rotary which is " High ethical standards in business and professions: the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations, and the dignifying of each Rotarian's occupation as an opportunity to serve society".  Such high minded, lofty goals - what do they mean?  Some of our clubs touch on this by having every member talk about themselves and their professions through biographical sketches at club meetings - a so called classification speech.  These are always extraordinarily interesting talks and affords the opportunity to learn something about our members. 
 
However, the real power of this Object of Rotary is to share our life and career experiences with the young folks in our community - the middle schoolers, the high schoolers and the college students in our midst.  These young folks hunger for knowledge about the world, about industry, about business, about the many career opportunities in front of them.  Rotarians have the opportunity - nay, the obligation, to impart as much of our life experience to them as we can.  Think about the influence we could have on all these young people.  Think about how we might have gained from hearing from our seniors when we were impressionable and hungry for knowledge many years ago. Through the Second Object of Rotary, we build pride in ourselves, our members and our clubs.  What is your club doing to advance the Second Object of Rotary?
 
Tom Sturiale - Membership Chair District 7910