"Hello, Fellow Rotarian." You'll hear this greeting frequently when you become a member of Rotary. Before a prospective Rotarian is elected to membership, he or she was first selected, for no one becomes a member of a Rotary Club by simply applying for membership.

The Membership Process
As you may know, you were first 'proposed' by one of our club's members. The member proposing your name for membership thus becomes your sponsor and is responsible for you and for your success as an interested member of this club.

Your 'proposal' will be screened by the Board of Directors and passed to the classification and membership committees to be investigated; first, to determine if your proposed classification was open and available; and second: to see if you would be an active and interested member of this Rotary Club if approved for membership.

A Rotary Club is not like a Country Club or Lodge - there is more required of a Rotarian than simply 'belonging' or attending occasional luncheons with a congenial group of associates within the business community. There are privileges as well as responsibilities in belonging to a Rotary Club. Hopefully, your sponsor will have already discussed some key aspects about Rotary before submitting an application on your behalf.

Your Classification
You hold a 'classification', which is the business or professional designation of your vocation. You hold this classification throughout the duration of your active membership in our club. Should you leave the club, your classification becomes 'open' and may be sought by yet another prospective member. Hopefully, you will be a long-time, or even lifetime member of Rotary, in your particular classification. While you have this classification, no other business or profession exactly the same as yours may hold active membership in this club. You were regarded as an outstanding representative of your classification in our community to merit selection for membership. Since you hold this exclusive classification, there are, of course, responsibilities that go with such exclusive representation.

Make-up Meetings
You'll hear a great deal about "make-ups." Making-up is the term applied to your attendance at other Rotary Clubs when you have been absent from a regular meeting of our club. Should you be absent on a particular week, you have the opportunity (and the responsibility) to 'make-up' a missed meeting by visiting a regular meeting of another Rotary Club. Your make-up meeting may be accomplished (up to) 2 weeks prior or 2 weeks following the missed meeting.

You'll find that you will be warmly welcomed at another club, whether that's cross-town, in another state or even another country. 'Make-ups' bring you a richness of Rotary experience and friendly acquaintance, which you could find in no other way.

Upon arriving at another club's regularly-scheduled meeting, ask anyone to introduce you to the Club Secretary, show your Rotary Membership card, and obtain a "Make-up" card that should be returned to our own Club's secretary for credit. Remember, it is your responsibility to submit the make-up card.

Leaving Early
Rotarians are encouraged to attend the entire meeting. Leaving early, or walking out on a speaker, is a great discourtesy, and should be avoided both at your home club, as well as when you are a visitor at another club. If your schedule will not enable you to remain for the entire meeting, consider attending a regular meeting or make-up meeting on an alternate date.

Suspension
Indeed, attendance is considered so important that Rotary International has a regulation providing for the automatic suspension of a member who misses (without make-ups) four or more consecutive meetings, unless specifically excused by the Board of Directors. With recent changes relaxing guidelines on make-up meetings, there is simply no valid reason why good attendance cannot be maintained. Where there is a chronically poor history of attendance, the Club's Board may, at its discretion, suspend a member, which may ultimately lead to termination of membership.

Service in Rotary
Service is an all-important Rotary principle. "Service above Self" and "He Profits Most Who Serves Best" are time honored Rotary mottos. A Rotary Club is a Service Club. Rotary clubs exist for the purpose of giving members an organized outlet to do something for others in a way no individual, working alone, could ever hope to achieve. Today, a Rotarian is a member of a Rotary Club, part of a worldwide organization consisting of nearly 30,000 clubs in 162 countries, and comprised of more than 1.2 million members. As we greeted the new Millennium, Rotary International celebrated 95 years of service.

There is clearly something to this Rotary idea or it would not last!

To be a Rotarian, you need a bit of sentiment, a bit of affection for your fellow man, you need to enjoy the company of others, and the pleasure of working together for the good of your community. You must be willing to tackle the job assigned to you, whatever you are asked to do - and do it valiantly.

What Does Rotary Do?
Many new members are puzzled by our frequent reference to a Rotary Club as a "Service Club."

What does Rotary do? Well, your club does what needs to be done - - whatever it can do as a part of service to the community. Rotary Clubs have contributed their financial and other resources to hospitals, scholar-ships, Art Museums, Scouting, Hospice, Wellness Centers, and a host of non-profit organizations that make up the fiber of our communities. Rotary also actively supports cultural and recreational projects for the benefit of our youth -- in other words, Rotarians assume a civic responsibility within the community by providing both financial aid and other resources. They generally accomplish this through a personal commitment for service to the club.

Worldwide, Rotary International sponsors the Rotary Foundation in memory of Paul Harris, the founder of Rotary. Rotarians in each club are asked to work towards becoming a Paul Harris Fellow through regular contributions to the Foundation, as their financial resources will allow. More detailed information about Paul Harris Fellowships and the Rotary International Foundation will be provided at an upcoming club meeting or assembly. We encourage new members to become familiar with the Foundation.

Rotarians do what they are asked to do - - sometimes it's a small project, with a short time frame, requiring limited resources. Other projects may require a considerable amount of coordination and extend over several months or throughout the Rotary year. We seek to provide assistance through our active involvement and effort, rather than merely writing a check to cover the costs associated with the project.

The Rotary Foundation
The Foundation is a Trust, voluntarily supported by Rotary clubs and Rotarians throughout the world; its objective is to further international understanding and friendly relations among peoples of different nations through projects of an educational or charitable nature. The Foundation grants Graduate Fellow-ships, Undergraduate Scholarships and Technical Training Awards and finances the transportation for Group Study Exchanges each year.

The Four Avenues of Service
All activities of a Rotary Club come under Rotary International's basic committee organization, known as the "Four Avenues." These committees are part of the 4 groups in which Rotary is organized as follows:

1. Club Service
2. Vocational Service
3. Community Service
4. International Service

A member of the club's Board of Directors is always named as Director or Coordinator of each of these four avenues; all committees and their chairs are included under one of these avenues. Some larger clubs use the 'Team' approach to involve the general membership in activities of one or more avenues of service.

Organization
A Rotary Club is an independent organization, which has met the standards of Rotary International by complying with the requirements for charter, organization and by-laws. In all local matters, your club is an independent, democratic group. It conforms, however, 'through channels' to Rotary International's requirements in order
to maintain its association with other Rotary Clubs throughout the world.

Club Officers
Your club officers are much the same as other clubs or organizations: President, Vice-President-Secretary, and Treasurer. Directors are elected to the Board. The Board of Directors consists of - - the President, Vice-President/Secretary, Treasurer and 6 Directors, elected by the general membership of the club.

Director's Meetings and Club Assemblies
Directors meet monthly at a predetermined location selected by the President. The President, as may be needed, may also call additional meetings. Another unique feature of most clubs is the Assembly meetings, which include all committee chairs, together with club officers and Directors. Each new member is expected to attend at least one such meeting to become acquainted with the leadership roles of the club and those who have been elected to serve.

District 5160
Rotary worldwide is divided, for administrative purposes, into more than 325 districts, with an average of 45 clubs in each district. Our District has 63 clubs and embraces Contra Costa, the northern portion of Alameda County, Solano County, communities adjacent to Highway 99 and the I-5 corridor north to Mt. Shasta, and clubs along I-80 East to Woodland and Davis. As we begin the year 2002, there are over 3000 Rotarians represented in District 5160. The Rotary Club of Lamorinda Sunrise, chartered in 1987, has an average membership of 40.

District Governor
The District Governor is an outstanding Rotarian who has been honored by the clubs in his or her District by being selected for this office for a one-year term. The role of the District Governor is crucial to the success of Rotary International. Nominated by his District, and elected by all delegates at the annual International Conference, a District Governor is an officer of Rotary International.

District Conference
A District Conference, open to all Rotarians, is held each year. Attendance at this conference is essential for the club's leadership teams and committee chairs. Held in a different locale each year, these 3-day conferences are a practical and inspirational exchange of Rotary ideas for the benefit of individual Rotarians. They offer an opportunity for developing fellowship, learning more about Rotary, and becoming more knowledgeable about all aspects of Rotary International.

The Governor's Visit
The District Governor will visit each club in his District at least once throughout the Rotary year (July 1 through June 30), and possibly more frequently. These visits provide an opportunity to learn more about the District's objectives and for our club's Directors to outline our program of work, which is best, accomplished through the activities of our standing committees in the Four Avenues of Service.

Rotary International Annual Convention
Besides our contact with Rotary International through attendance at the District Conference each spring, a General Convention of Rotary International is held each year, generally in mid-June. As a Club, we are entitled to send delegates who will vote upon Rotary legislation presented at the Convention. In addition to delegates, every Rotarian and his or her spouse is invited to attend this highly inspirational and prestigious 4-day event.

Rotarian Magazine and Club Newsletter
A portion of your dues covers your paid subscription to the official magazine of Rotary - The Rotarian. A monthly publication, this full-color periodical is a wonderful way to become acquainted with the activities and achievements of Rotary worldwide. Regular reading of The Rotarian is highly recommended, as it also has informative and timely articles of general interest and lasting value.

Our on-line Club Bulletin, The Lamorindan, keeps you informed about what is happening in our club, recaps the activities of last week's meeting, and provides a timely venue for special announcements, and upcoming events. The Editor of the Lamorindan is always pleased to receive items of interest to the membership, and you are invited to submit them, as it may be appropriate. We invite you to visit our club's website, www.Lamorindasunrise.org to learn more about our club.

Types of Membership
Based on recent revision of membership guidelines enacted in the spring of 2001, there are now two types of membership in Rotary:

1. Active Membership
2. Honorary Membership

Active Membership
Adult individuals of good character and business reputation shall be limited to one member representing each approved classification of business or profession. The exception(s) to this are in the newspaper or religion classifications, where a club may be represented by more than one member of each.

Honorary Membership
An individual who has distinguished himself or herself by service to Rotary, or to Rotary ideals, and who resides within the territorial boundaries of our club may, at the discretion of the Board of Directors, be elected to Honorary Membership.

Club Member Ethics
Your membership in Rotary is intended to be the basis of providing service to our community and developing fellowship with other members. Rotarians are not banded together for the purpose of promoting or trading business. For this reason, the Club Roster is not to be used for commercial purposes or as a mailing list for solicitation of business. While it is only natural to want to do business with individuals with whom we have developed a relationship, the purpose of joining Rotary is not to foster business relationships for personal gain. Again, "Service Above Self" needs to be the guiding principle that Rotarians follow.

A Committee Assignment for you
To be an active Rotarian, it's vital that you be willing to serve on a committee or participate in an upcoming club project. Becoming involved immediately after joining Rotary is also a great way to become acquainted with your fellow Rotarians. As a new member, you can be assured that the various Committee Chairs or the Club Directors will quickly 'recruit' you into service. Choose the area of service where you feel you can contribute and you'll soon feel 'at home' in our Club. And that's a great feeling to have!

Welcome
As a new member, you are a welcome addition to our Club. Every new member has a wonderful opportunity to bring new ideas and enthusiasm to this club. You can be assured all members are happy to welcome you into our ranks, for it is tradition that no member is ever confirmed in this club if any other member has an objection and has stated that objection to the Club's Board of Directors.

"Red Badge" Requirements
To help you feel welcome as a new member, you'll receive your "Red Badge," preprinted with your name, classification (and nickname if you have one). Your goal will be to complete several tasks that will help you get into the swing of things within our club. These include getting the signature of every member in your club directory, attending a board meeting, working on a service project, serving as a Greeter at one of our meetings, and giving a 5-minute vocational talk so club members may learn more about you.

Upon satisfactory completion of your "Red Badge Requirements", you will be elevated to "Blue Badge" status and considered a member in good standing.

A Rotarian's Financial requirements
Membership in Rotary is an investment that pays wonderful dividends. As with most organizations, there is an initiation fee, annual dues, and other costs that are associated with membership. Here is a summary of those, so you may plan accordingly.

o Initiation Fee: Paid prior to induction into Rotary Club of Lamorinda Sunrise
o 50 Weekly Breakfasts $14.00 per week, billed quarterly
o Rotary Foundation 125.00 suggested minimum contribution each year.
o Special Recognition: Usually about $100 per year (but discretionary, based on agreed-upon amount)
o Purchase of 4 tickets to the annual fundraising auction: $200

In addition to these basic expenses, Rotary clubs have several social events and outings for both members and spouses/families in order to become better acquainted. Attendance is encouraged, and the club leadership does its best to insure these outings during the year are both affordable and fun!

The Object of Rotary
The Object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and foster:
1. The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service.
2. High ethical standards in business and professions; the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations; and the dignifying by each Rotarian of his occupation as an opportunity to serve society.
3. The application of the ideal of service by every Rotarian to his personal, business and community life.
4. The advancement of international understanding, good will, and peace throughout a world fellowship of business and professional men and women united in the ideal of service.

The Four-Way Test
The Four Way Test of the things we think, say or do in our daily lives is a creed, which Rotarians strive to follow in their daily lives. Commit this to memory as a new member, for you will be asked to recite the Four Way Test in the immediate future.
1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is if FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?