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Why I
Am A Rotarian
// Chartered December
1st, 1916 |
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DAVID
CLARK
President 1918-1919
By Charlie Hunter
The Rotary Club of Spruce Pine, North Carolina,
recently celebrated its Fiftieth Anniversary . .
. having been organized in September, 1928. In
representing the sponsor club I did some
research.
Dave dark of the Charlotte Club was the Rotarian
who was chairman of the committee in organizing
the new club of Spruce Pine. This was one of the
thirty Rotary clubs that he started. He was the
second president of the Charlotte Club
(1918-1919). He went on to be District Governor,
and a director of Rotary International.
In the early days of Rotary, Dave had a running
battle with the leadership of Rotary. There was
a strong position for organizing Rotary Clubs
only in the large metropolitan cities. This was
the stance of a majority of the leadership of
Rotary International.
Dave took the position that Rotary was something
that was needed in every community that could
muster sufficient classifications to organize a
club. His tenacity was unmatched . . . he could
become a majority of one.
In time, Dave Clark's thinking prevailed, and
Rotary was welcomed around the world—from small
communities of 500 population to the great
cities of millions. Today, we find 17,874 Rotary
Clubs in 154 countries and geographical regions,
with a new club coming on stream every day. Dave
Clark made a good-sized contribution. —Charlotte
Reporter, October 24, 1978.
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DAVID G.
WELTON
President 1948-1949
Like President Bill, I became acquainted with
Rotary through my father, a charter member of
the Madison, Wisconsin club, organized in 1914.
That club's annual Family Picnic was one of the
highlights of my childhood. Then, while
attending the University of Wisconsin I served
as accompanist for that club. The song-leader
was a Professor of Music at the University and
Director of a large church choir. He taught the
members of that club four-part singing.
As soon as I joined the Charlotte Club (in
1943), I was told that my place was at the
piano, and I've been "holding down that
classification," so to speak, ever since, with
pleasure.
As president-elect in 1948 I was sent to the
Rotary International Convention in Rio de
Janeiro, along with Everett Bierman, another
member of this club who was our District
Governor that year. This trip was a milestone in
my life: it was my first trip abroad and my
first R.I. Convention. In many respects it was
an. educational experience which left indelible
impressions on my mind . . . one of these being
the importance of International Understanding,
the 4th Object of Rotary.
While visiting in Sao Paulo, Brazil, three of us
were entertained by the president of the Ford
Motor Co. of Brazil, a Danish gentleman named
Orberg whose sons were being educated in the
U.S., one at M.I.T. and one at the University of
Michigan. The Michigan student later visited us
in Charlotte. His father believed that the
Rotary Foundation Fellowships awarded to
outstanding students were making a very
significant contribution to international
understanding, lie had great faith in the
potential of this program.
During the past 30 years or so I have attended
Rotary meetings in ten countries and have had,
as many of you have, some very interesting
experiences thereby. In Musashino, a Tokyo
suburb, I was the guest of the club president
who, halfway through lunch, informed me that I
was the program for that day! At first I thought
he was joking, but he was serious. When I asked
what he'd like me to speak about, he immediately
replied: "Your impressions of Japan and the
Japanese people." He had thoughtfully seated an
English speaking member on my right, a man with
a PhD from the University of Chicago who taught
English at one of the Tokyo universities. This
turned out to be the easiest impromptu talk I
ever gave. After speaking for several
paragraphs, I stopped and the man on my right
translated those remarks into Japanese. This
gave me time to think of what to say next!
One could fill many pages describing ROTARY's
assets. My purpose is to list briefly those
which have meant the most to me.
First and foremost are — in the words of Paul
Lucas — "The pleasant wine of Rotary
acquaintance . . . and the warmth of Rotary
fellowship." For the true Rotarian, imbibing of
this wine is irresistible; and regardless of the
quantity ingested, there is no "hangover"!
As a physician, I welcome this weekly
opportunity to meet with men of all vocations.
Its effect is broadening and rewarding . . .
both in personal relationships and in keeping my
information spectrum broad.
As a member, I welcome the opportunity to
participate in the work and functions of our
Club. There is no better way to enrich your
Rotary experience.
Perhaps the greatest asset is the "Spirit of
Rotary." Difficult to define, this spirit
permeates the Rotary experience so completely
that once inoculated by it the member neither
seeks nor desires a cure!
Now, a physician seldom leaves a patient without
writing at least one prescription, and I have
one for you: To live a long and healthy life, be
an ACTIVE ROTARIAN!!
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F.
SADLER LOVE
President 1961-1962
One feature of our 70th Anniversary observance
this year is spotlighting
our past presidents, particularly those who
served 15 or more years back.
In this issue we salute Sadler Love, who served
as president 25 years ago.
Sadler spoke without manuscript at our meeting
on August 19, 1986.
His summary of those remarks appears below.
President Bill has asked me to tell you what
Rotary has meant to me over the past 35 years
and what it continues to mean to me. To further
complicate matters, he has asked me to do this
in two and a half minutes. Being keenly aware of
the time problem facing the president of Rotary,
I shall stay within that limit.
First, with Rotary operating world-wide in some
160 countries, with now over 1,000,000 members,
I am a part of a far-reaching effort to bring
men and nations closer together in the hope that
we may advance toward the elusive goal of peace
while at the same time helping in considerable
measure in the battle to lessen world suffering.
Rotary's effort to eliminate polio in the world
population would of itself make my membership
worthwhile.
Second, I have been and continue to be a part of
an organization of nearly 300 men in the
Charlotte Rotary Club who are striving day by
day and year by year to make this community and
this state better places in which to live, not
just for ourselves but for our children and our
children's children, for people in all walks of
life. Thirdly and finally, I have shared for 35
years — and continue to share — the fellowship,
the friendship and the humor of much of the
leadership of Charlotte and Mecklenburg, men of
good will moving forward to light a million
candles in a world so desperately in need of
light.
You asked me, Mr. President, what Rotary has
meant to me. I say in reply that my only regret
is that I have not been able to serve Rotary in
the same measure Rotary has served me.
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JOHN
PAUL LUCAS, JR.
President 1947-1948
John Paul Lucas, Jr. was unquestionably one of
our most literate members, having served as a
newspaper-man and co-author of a book. He had
few peers as a writer and spokesman for Rotary.
Our roster contains a postscript authored by
Paul, which will continue to inspire us. A
beautiful example of his gift of expression
appeared in the April 28, 1964 Reporter under
the heading "Rotary's Assets." He wrote:
"As a freshman member of the Charlotte Rotary
Club in the Fall of 1941, full of enthusiasm and
ignorance, I was caught embarrassingly off-guard
by a non-Rotarian visitor who asked me a simple
question, " 'What is the real reason for
Rotary?' "And sure enough, when you look at it
that way, how do busy men justify the time and
energy and, in most cases, the personal expense
requisite to membership? We live in a fairly
busy society with a good many demands that must
be faced, and the question may well be asked of
any time-consuming organization, Rotary
included, 'What is its justification?'
"I couldn't answer then. I'm still looking for
the best answer. But after twenty-odd years of
Rotary I'm sure Rotary's justification is not in
its weekly get-together over the clatter of
knives and forks. Not in its annual Ladies
Night. Not in its emergence in 1905 out of the
companionable heart of young Paul Harris, lonely
in a big city. Not in the long series of
luncheon programs designed to raise the level of
our civic intelligence and broaden our sense of
social obligation. Not even in a club's many
worthwhile projects of benefit to the community.
"You yourself are the justification of Rotary.
And the measure of that justification is
precisely the measure by which the individual
member actually does use his Rotary acquaintance
as an opportunity for service through his
vocation and his community. Technology has made
the world smaller, but Rotary is making men
larger — in understanding and in vision.
"If I had any single thing to say to a new
member, I think it would be this: Why not define
Rotary to your own satisfaction? Then, just for
fun, try it out on someone!"
On another occasion, Paul summed it up in these
words, ". . . after all, the end product of
Rotary is Rotarians." Certainly, this man was an
adornment to the name we bear,
—Charlotte Reporter, May 15, 1979
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CHARLES
A. HUNTER
President 1959-1960
Virtually for all of my adult working life I
have had the loan of a Rotary classification. I
was 22 years old in May of 1940. In June, I
graduated from college. In October 1940, I was
in Rotary.
As I recall, it was Socrates who said that the
unexamined life was not worth living.
In my work out on the dairy farm, on many
occasions I had the opportunity to ponder the
question, "Why Rotary?" Why disrupt harvesting
or other pressing duties, shower, slip into
Sunday clothes, and head towards Rotary meetings
at the old Chamber of Commerce dining room, the
Hotel Charlotte, the Elks Club, or Honey's,
often adding another couple hours to the working
day.
It may have been the better use of time to sit
down with the butcher, the baker, and the
candlestick maker and to listen to 52 thoughtful
topics each year . . . my horizons kept
expanding. When day was over, my world was a
little larger.
In the midst of this I continued to ponder the
question, "Why Rotary?"
Fortunately, the answer presented itself. I was
exposed to the thinking of Abraham Moslow and
his theory on the hierarchy of needs of people.
Many of you, I am sure, are acquainted with the
five levels of human needs as outlined by Moslow.
First is the physiological need of food,
clothing, shelter and rest. These are the first
basic needs.
Second is the need for safety or security. When
physiological needs are satisfied, man wants to
keep and protect what he has. He starts to try
to stabilize his environment for the future.
Third level is that of social needs. As his
environment becomes more stable, he seeks to be
part of something larger than himself. He has
social needs for belonging, for sharing and
association, for giving and receiving
friendship. This is the point at which Rotary
begins to interplay. . . . We refer to it as
fellowship and acquaintance.
Fourth is the ego need. These are the needs that
relate to one's self-esteem and self worth
coupled with the human building blocks of
self-confidence, independence, achievement and
competence. It nudges us on to earn status,
recognition, and respect of our peers. At this
point Rotary begins to accommodate even more of
the needs.
Fifth and highest needs are that of
self-fulfillment . . . the need for growth,
self-development, self-actualization. As the
capstone of all his other needs, man wants to
realize the full range of his individual
potential as a human being.
Yes, Rotary identifies with the higher needs of
mankind. Stand on a railroad track and peer down
the rails on a straight track; they appear to
merge in the distance. But stand on the avenue
of service in Rotary and look down its length
and it gets wider and wider. To me, that is the
miracle called Rotary.
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