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Chicago Rotarian Montague Bear designed rotary’s first emblem in 1905. The simple wagon wheel (in motion with dust) was adopted to represent civilization and movement. In 1923, the present gear wheel with 24 cogs and six spokes was adopted. A keyway was added to signify that the wheel was a "worker and not an idler." (Elizabeth A. Lehnerer photo/P-D) |
With 1.2 million members in 168 countries, the organization has raised more than $600 million to improve the lives of others, founded Easter Seals, sponsors exchange programs that allow people from across the world to see what life is like in other countries, and provided thousands of volunteers to help impoverished areas.
And many would consider its most important accomplishment to be helping reduce the incidence of polio by 99 percent.
It's safe to say Rotary International has made quite an impact on the world since its creation by Paul Harris in Chicago in 1905.
In its last 100 years, Rotary groups in America and across the globe have seen it all. Clubs thrived in the roaring '20s and members fought to keep the organization going during the Great Depression. Through wars, natural disasters and mankind's incredible accomplishments and successes, Rotary has been in the forefront.
As the second hundred years begin, local Rotary clubs are remembering their past and looking ahead to a bright future.
Edwardsville, Granite City and Collinsville all have their own clubs that make up part of District 6460. The Goshen Rotary club was formed in the early 1990s by the Edwardsville club and includes Glen Carbon, Troy, Maryville and a small portion of Edwardsville.
The first local Rotary club began in 1924 in Granite City. The steel town was booming and filled with businesses and successful professionals. The thriving metropolis was a perfect place for a Rotary club. A year later, Edwardsville formed its club and in 1945 the Collinsville club was chartered.
Locally, the clubs operate the same as they do internationally. Meetings are held once a week, usually during the lunch hours. Although Rotary got its name because meeting places rotated among members' places of business, meetings are now held at a specified location. Included in the meetings is lunch, during which members can discuss everything Rotary; announcements; and a presentation by a member or outside acquaintance on a topic of their choosing.
Membership has always been by invitation only – a system that was implemented to ensure a cross-section of the community is represented in the club. Potential members must pass the Four-Way Test, a Rotary tradition.
Dennis Wilmsmeyer, president of the Granite City Rotary, said the test helps determine a person's character, dependability and service-mindedness.
"When you are thinking about a new candidate, you contemplate those things and ask yourself if an individual possesses those qualities."
Members, although chosen to encompass a variety of backgrounds, are mainly business professionals because of their availability and connections within a community.
Gerry Schuetzenhofer, president of the Edwardsville Rotary, said he joined the club when he was a new resident in the city. The club helped him be active in the community and meet other like-minded people.
"I thought it was a good way to spend my time," he said. "It was one of the best things I've ever done as far as getting to know members of the community and getting involved."
With so many working professionals in one room, one would think networking would come naturally, but Collinsville Rotarian Ken Buel, who is also a former district governor, said business stays outside.
"If networking is a person's motivation for joining they will be disappointed," he said.
Wilmsmeyer said talking shop is strictly prohibited at the Granite City club and members can be fined for doing so.
"We meet to increase the fellowship and focus on the community and it's needs and desires," he said. "Talking about business in our club is taboo."
Even so, the members couldn't deny supporting each other in the outside world.
"We don't stand up in the middle of a meeting and flaunt our businesses," said Debbie Schreiber of the Goshen club. "But we know what each other does and will go to the people we trust and know we can work with. The bond is there without anyone ever saying anything about their business profession."
For the first 82 years of its existence, Rotary designated for men only. It wasn't until 1987 that women were admitted. Today, women make up a small but appreciated part of the clubs.
Joyce Biegert, a member of the Collinsville Rotary, said although the club still primarily consists of men, it's not a "good ole boy's club."
"That's absolutely not Rotary," she said. "We get projects started and done and everybody chips in and works well together. I don't think any of the ladies would ever say that they don't feel welcome. The men put as much work on us as they do on themselves."
Schreiber, former president of the Goshen club and a Rotarian since 1998, said her father was in Rotary.
"We have quite a few members in the group who are legacies," she said.
As a child, she joined her family in Rotary activities and fund-raisers and said, even at a young age, she wanted to be a part of such a selfless cause.
"Once you see the good the group can do in the community you want to be a part of it," she said.