Rotary: Love is Key to Service
“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.” (Helen Keller)
“National Pie Day was January 23rd,” shared Rotarian Roger Nutt, along with trivia facts at the Rotary Club meeting on January 29th. After all, what could be better than to dwell on the perfect treat we all love, as it warms hearts and taste buds.
With Valentine’s Day approaching, Rotarian Kurt Rusk’s Valentine’s Day program on Wednesday, February 12, 2025, featured trivia and questions and answers about Valentine’s Day. What fun, but some questions were difficult! For instance, William Shakespeare mentions Valentine’s Day in which of his plays? Answer: Hamlet.
Did you know that in addition to the U.S., Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Denmark, Italy and Japan? And, the 19th century industrial revolution made mass-produced paper cards possible, and Hallmark sold its first such valentines in 1913. Today in the U.S., 145 million Valentine’s Day cards are purchased annually (not including children’s multi-pack card sets), making it the second biggest card-giving holiday (behind Christmas). Approximately 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent every year around the world. In Victorian times it was considered bad luck to sign Valentine’s cards!
Rotarians all knew that red roses are said to represent love and are, therefore, perhaps the most common of all flowers given on Valentine’s Day.
Did anyone note that Rotary has had a float in the Pasadena, California, Annual Tournament of Roses Parade since 1981?
While people are celebrating Valentine’s Day to honor romantic love, Rotarians use the holiday as an opportunity to recognize other types of love and affection: for family members, friends, co-workers, classmates and even pets! It is in that spirit that Rotary International conducts its work through fellowship, collegiality, friendship and an unselfish love and concern for others.
To illustrate this point, consider the key objective of Rotary: the “ideal of service,” and Rotary’s motto, “service above self.”
Even Rotary’s code of ethics, the Four-Way Test, reminds Rotarians to be gracious, generous and positive in dealings with others—to enhance relationships with others rather than diminishing others or selfishly boosting oneselves.
February is the perfect time to remember these Rotary values, for the first Rotary meeting was held on February 23, 1905—nearly a decade before Hallmark’s first mass-produced Valentine’s Day cards.
As discussed in a
recent meeting, the first Rotary Club started in Chicago, Illinois, by Paul P. Harris, an attorney who wished to perpetuate the friendliness of his small town upbringing through a professionally-oriented group.
Merely 16 years later, Rotary clubs had been formed on six continents, and the following year, in 1922, the organization added “International” to its name. In addition to expanding geographically, the group was also expanding its mission beyond that of a professional and social club to community support and service.
Today, Rotary International pays homage to its February founding by recognizing February as World Understanding Month, and February 23, as World Understanding and Peace Day. To attain each, love is key.
In an increasingly complex world, Rotary provides one of the most basic human needs: the need for friendship and fellowship. It is one of two reasons why Rotary began in 1905. The second original reason for Rotary’s beginning is business development. Everyone needs to network. Rotary consists of a cross section of every business community. Its members come from all walks of life to work together.
After this year’s Valentine’s Day candy has been consumed, its flowers have wilted, and its romantic dinners linger as mere memories, Rotarians will continue to demonstrate their love and care of others through service above and support beyond self.
Each week at Rotary there is a program designed to keep one informed about what is going on in the community, nation, and world. Each meeting provides an opportunity to listen to different speakers and a variety of timely topics.
Membership in Rotary continues one’s growth and education in human relations and personal development. And, Rotary is fun, a lot of fun. Each meeting is fun. The club projects are fun. Social activities are fun. The service is fun.
Rotarians wear a pin that says “Rotary International.” There are few places on the globe that do not have a Rotary Club. Every Rotarian is welcome – even encouraged – to attend any of the 35,000 clubs in 220 nations and geographical regions. This means instant friends in both one’s own community and in the world community.
Rotary has no secret handshake, no secret policy, no official creed, no secret meeting or rituals. It is an open society of men and women who simply believe in helping others.
Rotary is a service club. Its business is mankind. Its product is service. Rotarians provide community service to both local and international communities. Rotarians have the chance to do something for somebody else and to sense the self-fulfillment that comes in the process and return of that satisfaction to one’s own life. It is richly rewarding!
365 days out of the year, one can fall in love with Rotary!