Rotary Looking to Increase Membership
The Carmi Rotary club met on Thursday to discuss ways to increase the number of members in the organization. Several ideas were floated and, and as a club one or more of the thoughts will be tried out over the next few weeks and months.
Many people don’t the size and scope of Rotary International. RI is the largest service organization in the world, with clubs in almost every country on earth. Presently there are over 1.2 million Rotarians. Rotary started in 1908 in Chicago, Illinois, when a Vermont native who had relocated to the big city began missing the friendliness and comradery of small towns. He got together with three associates and formed a club that would meet every week and work on civic projects. Since the members decided to “rotate” the meetings between the four offices, they began calling their club the “Rotary” club.
The small club grew quickly, adding a chapter in Toronto a few years later to become an international organization. The club has continued to grow every year since that first meeting.
Rotary’s biggest project came about at the end of the 1990’s, when they teamed with the Red Cross, the World Health Organization and the Bill Gates Foundation to take on the daunting task of eliminating polio from the face of the earth. The group set a goal of 20 years, and although the ultimate goal has not been met, this past reporting year only two countries had active cases of the dreaded disease.
Locally, the Carmi Rotary club has long been a force in the area. The club has been a staunch supporter of the Boy Scouts, of the Carmi Little League, of the Baptist Children’s Home, of White County Build, and many, many other worthy organizations in our region.
The Carmi Rotary club meets every Thursday at noon at the First United Methodist Church on Main Street in Carmi. Anyone wishing to learn more about this civic organization is welcome to attend a meeting or speak with any Carmi Rotarian.
