The world's first service club, the Rotary Club of Chicago, Illinois, USA, was formed on 23 February 1905 by Paul P. Harris, an attorney who wished to recapture in a professional club the same friendly spirit he had felt in the small towns of his youth. The name "Rotary" derived from the early practice of rotating meetings among members' offices.
Rotary's popularity spread throughout the United States in the decade that followed; clubs were chartered from San Francisco to New York. By 1921, Rotary clubs had been formed on six continents, and the organization adopted the name Rotary International a year later.
As Rotary grew, its mission expanded beyond serving the professional and social interests of club members. Rotarians began pooling their resources and contributing their talents to help serve communities in need. The organization's dedication to this ideal is best expressed in its principal motto: Service Above Self. Rotary also later embraced a code of ethics, called The 4-Way Test, that has been translated into hundreds of languages.
Announcements:
We need members, please consider bringing a prospective member. The off site meetings seem to be a good meeting to bring someone to. Free to guests.
We will be participating in a food drive for HACAP from 2/17-3/13. If you didn't have a chance to donate don't sweat it, bring it next week. Next week is Tooty Fruity, bring 100% juice boxes, fruit pouches or fruit cups.
Speaker:
Michelle Bell, Rotary District Governor
Born at Fort Carson, Colorado, Michelle moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa as a small child. She graduated from John F. Kennedy Senior High School then attended the University of Iowa. She earned an Associate of Liberal Arts from Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, a Bachelors of Administration in Management at Mt. Mercy University in Cedar Rapids and a Masters of Business Administration from Nova Southeastern University, Ft. Lauderdale Florida. She currently resides in Marion, Iowa with her husband Tracy, twin sons Nikolas and Brendan. She also has a grown son, Aaron who resides in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Michelle has worked at Rockwell Collins since 2003. She is an ACE Manager in Simulation and Training Solutions, Mission Systems. She is a certified LEAN Master and holds a Six-Sigma Greenbelt certification from Purdue University. She has worked on many programs in Communications, GPS as well as Commercial Aviation during her career. She is also the owner of White Lion Treasures, a vintage, collectible and hand crafted goods store in the Czech Village, Cedar Rapids Iowa.
Michelle talked about the need for flexibility in Rotary clubs to gain new members. She encouraged us to keep innovating with new meeting formats. She also encouraged the general members to give input to the club board.
Michelle also encouraged members to sign up for the upcoming district conference. Information about it can be found here, https://district5970.org/60466/Page/ShowSitePage?ClassCode=SitePage&Slug=district-conference.
Next Week:
Next week is a social meeting, come and get to know your fellow Rotarians better.
