Info on Rotary Club

Questions on how we spend our money and our time - consumer goods and services, home and vehicle, leisure and recreational activities
Post Reply
Topic Author
InvestoGuy
Posts: 189
Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2010 12:34 pm

Info on Rotary Club

Post by InvestoGuy »

A friend of mine recently invited me to join the local chapter of the Rotary club. I was wondering if there are any Rotarian bogleheads and how their experience has been and if they would recommend it?
Any thoughts / tips on this.
Thanks.
User avatar
Sheepdog
Posts: 5783
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:05 pm
Location: Indiana, retired 1998 at age 65

Re: Info on Rotary Club

Post by Sheepdog »

I have been a Rotarian since 1979. Rotary creates the perfect venue for me to give back to the community I live in while enjoying the camaraderie of positive and active individuals. The community is not just my home town, but the world community. It's motto is "Service Above Self". I have enjoyed not only service projects in my hometown, but the world as a whole. Rotary has been the leader to eliminate Polio in the world. There are still 4 countries with Polio today and they are in troubled areas (Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nigeria and parts of India). Until Polio is eliminated there, we are all in danger of it returning.
I have visited several foreign countries because of international Rotary conventions which I wanted to attend and for our club's international projects such as providing a pasta factory in Argentina to provide employment for handicapped persons there. I have entertained and enjoyed Rotarians in my club and home from Russia, India, Bangladesh, South Korea, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Japan, England, Wales, and other countries. Rotary is in over 200 countries, by the way
A Rotary Club can provide networking for employment and community leadership opportunities.
If you are invited, then join, participate, and enjoy.
Here is the Rotary International website. http://www.rotary.org/EN/ABOUTUS/Pages/ridefault.aspx Visit it to learn more.
Jim
Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered you will never grow. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
JDCPAEsq
Posts: 1835
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2007 2:58 pm
Location: Southwest Florida

Re: Info on Rotary Club

Post by JDCPAEsq »

I would suggest you attend a few meetings and see how you like it. Rotary has mandatory attendance requirements once you are a member. In the course of my career I joined two Rotary Clubs in two separate cities. In the first instance I moved shortly after joining. In the second city I grew tired of the routine and didn't feel it was doing much to help advance my career or provide personal satisfaction and so I eventually resigned. Service clubs aren't for everyone, and I guess not for me.
John
Topic Author
InvestoGuy
Posts: 189
Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2010 12:34 pm

Re: Info on Rotary Club

Post by InvestoGuy »

Sheepdog:
I have visited several foreign countries because of international Rotary conventions which I wanted to attend and for our club's international projects such as providing a pasta factory in Argentina to provide employment for handicapped persons there. I have entertained and enjoyed Rotarians in my club and home from Russia, India, Bangladesh, South Korea, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Japan, England, Wales, and other countries. Rotary is in over 200 countries, by the way
Typically, who will sponsor / pay for the international trips? Is this out of your pocket or do you find a sponsor?
User avatar
Sheepdog
Posts: 5783
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:05 pm
Location: Indiana, retired 1998 at age 65

Re: Info on Rotary Club

Post by Sheepdog »

InvestoGuy wrote:Sheepdog:
I have visited several foreign countries because of international Rotary conventions which I wanted to attend and for our club's international projects such as providing a pasta factory in Argentina to provide employment for handicapped persons there. I have entertained and enjoyed Rotarians in my club and home from Russia, India, Bangladesh, South Korea, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Japan, England, Wales, and other countries. Rotary is in over 200 countries, by the way
Typically, who will sponsor / pay for the international trips? Is this out of your pocket or do you find a sponsor?
If you are a Rotary District delegate to an international convention or you are a leader and member of a sponsored group like an international Group Study Exchange, usually the District pays their way. Even some Clubs pay their president's expenses for such travel, but just a few have the resources. Some clubs will pay a member(s) to travel to work on international projects, but I would guess not many. My club was never rich enough to pay me or other members to travel internationally. We pay certain club officers to go to a Rotary District conference though. My club dues are low and my club is not a fund raising club as many are, as we are a "hands on" community service project club. All clubs are different. We paid our own way for such travel.. It's all up to the budget of your club and district.
Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered you will never grow. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
User avatar
HardKnocker
Posts: 2063
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 11:55 am
Location: New Jersey USA

Re: Info on Rotary Club

Post by HardKnocker »

You shouldn't join Rotary to advance your career. Join to meet new people (who are usually top notch) and to give back to your community.

It costs money to belong to Rotary (dues, time, donations, fines, lunches, etc.) Be sure you can afford it. It will cost you $500-$1,500 a year for the basics.

Rotary is a great organization but join for the right reasons.
“Gold gets dug out of the ground, then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again and pay people to stand around guarding it. It has no utility.”--Warren Buffett
montanagirl
Posts: 1799
Joined: Thu Nov 19, 2009 3:55 pm
Location: Montana

Re: Info on Rotary Club

Post by montanagirl »

I was in a new Rotary club for a year and it seemed to be filled with financial advisors and nonprofit directors looking for support. I would have much rather been in the older established club, for the variety of the members, but alas I was not invited. If you can get an invitation to a club like that, take it. But it can be expensive.

Even so, all the same promoters seem to go around to all the same service clubs giving the same talks. There is a lot of attempted manipulation of civic support for various projects using the service clubs. I got really wary of the whole scene after awhile.

So, it did not work for me. YMMV.
Post Reply