Much of the duties and tasks of our daily lives are part of a process or conducted by the rules. So much so, that sometimes the goals or desired end results becomes obscured by the convention of the system. While structure is necessary and rules are made for a reason, keeping your eye on the goal is the real object of the Rotary Club of Petaluma.
In an increasingly complex world, Rotary provides one of the most basic human needs: the need for friendship and fellowship. Everyone needs to network and Rotary consists of a cross section of every business community. Our members come from all walks of life. Rotarians help each other and collectively help others.¹
The Rotary Club of Petaluma’s long tradition of ethics and leadership development remains as important today as it did when the club was chartered in 1923. Every Rotarian serves our community in his or her own profession as an active citizen of our community. Our club is an organization of leaders and successful people committed to staying informed about what is going on in the community, nation and world. We gather weekly to listen to different speakers and a variety of namely topics.
Locally, the Rotary Club of Petaluma actively supports our community in a variety of ways. Raising funds at the July Petaluma Arts and Equestrian Festival and our Super Raffle/Crab Feed in February sustains our commitment to putting a dictionary in the hand of every third grade student. Every Petaluma Rotarian is active in at least one avenue of service: Youth Service, Vocational Service, International Service, and The Rotary Foundation.
Rotary is not about attending the weekly meetings because it is a commitment. Rotary is about taking 90 minutes away from your work, yourself and your world to meet and grow in the company of our community’s business leaders. Rotary’s business is mankind. Its product is service. If you ask our members, they’ll tell you the best part of being a Rotarian is the chance to do something for somebody else. There is a self-fulfillment that comes in the process and return of that satisfaction to our own life. Rotary is richly rewarding.
Rotary is the oldest and most prestigious service club in the world. The processes are in place and the rules are clear. The difference is Rotarians do not define themselves by processes or rules. We keep our eye on the goal and thus our success grows.
¹Richard D. King, Rotary International President 2001-02
