Club Prospectus

Club Prospectus

Introduction

This Prospectus has been prepared for potential members to give an introduction to the Rotary movement and to explain the function of the Rotary Club of Orkney together with the privileges, responsibilities and duties of being a Rotarian.

The Object of Rotary

To encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of a 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, goodwill and peace through a world - fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.

History of Rotary

Rotary was conceived and founded in 1905 by a Chicago lawyer called Paul Harris. His original conception was simply that of a club for businessmen who had some use for each other beyond that of merely making money out of each other. By 1910 there were 16 clubs and in 1911 the concept crossed the Atlantic with clubs being organised in London, Dublin and Belfast. An International Association of Rotary Clubs was formed in 1912 and this became known as Rotary International in 1922. Rotary International is now represented in approximately 200 countries, 34,000 clubs with over 1,200,000 active members. Rotary Foundation is the largest Non-Governmental Charitable Organization in the world

The Rotary Club of Orkney

The Rotary Club of Orkney began life as the Rotary Club of Kirkwall which was chartered on 23 February 1967 with the Rotary Club of Wick as The Mother Club and since formation has built a proud record of service. Membership was not restricted to the Kirkwall Area and on I July 2002 the club changed its name to better emphasise the countywide nature of its members and activities.

Membership is by invitation with the members of the club recommending those whom they consider best able to continue to uphold the high standards of Rotary within the community.

Rotary is a Dual Gender organisation.

District 1010. The North of Scotland

Our Club is part of District 1010 and there are 88 clubs and around 3,000 members in the district.

District 1010 is just one of 29 districts within Rotary 1nternational in Great Britain and Ireland (Rotary GB&I) and of 529 districts within Rotary International (RI) - The other districts within Scotland are District 1020 which covers the South and District 1230 covering the West. Brief details of their club meetings are found in the back of our District directory that is distributed annually to members

The District Governor, 8 Assistant/Zone Governors, District Officials and the District Council provide guidance and help to the Clubs. Each year there are two District Council meetings in various locations and whilst we are encouraged to send at least one delegate to these meetings the problems of travel unfortunately tend to make this difficult.

In November each year there is the District Conference, which starts with the Friday evening fellowship meal with events all day Saturday and closes on Sunday. This is a great fellowship event and whilst the difficulties in travel can be a problem the Club is usually represented by the President whose travel and attendance costs are met by the Club. Other members and partners are also most welcome to attend it is an ideal way to make new friends in Rotary and learn more about Rotary as an organisation.

Club Organisation

The Rotary year is from 1 July to 30 June.

Council

The Council runs the Club and consists of the President, Senior Vice President, Junior Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Conveners of the main Committees, Immediate Past President and normally two other members. Nominations for the posts of President, Senior Vice President, Junior Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer require to be lodged each year for confirmation at a specially convened General Meeting preferably held in December.

Club Council organise the Club following the standard Club Constitution and by-laws. Club Members have the say on all matters relating to the charities account.

The Council meets on the first Monday of every month with the possible exception of the January meeting.

Main Committees

Club Service

The Convener is the Senior Vice President.

This committee looks after the general running of the Club and organizes the Club’s own functions, e.g. The Annual Dinner and Safari Dinner, and is responsible for the Club Diary and weekly speakers. The Committee’s over-riding objective is the fostering of fellowship and friendship among the members.

Community Service

The President appoints a Convener

The purpose of Community Service is to identify aims and objectives for Club action within the local community. Although it is not totally restricted to the immediate area the committee organizes the realisation of those objectives approved by Club Council. The Committee seeks ways to help the disadvantaged in our community and amongst regular activities are:

Christmas; Santa’s Sleigh runs in Kirkwall, Santa also delivers gifts to the elderly in Kirkwall, Stromness, Dounby, St Margaret’s Hope and Westray. Other activities include the organisation of Bonfire Night, and other fundraising events.

International and Vocational Service

The President appoints a Convener

It is the function of this Committee to propose ways in which the club can alleviate some of the deprivation in less fortunate parts of the world. In the past emergency boxes have been filled and sent to a central UK depot from where they can he dispatched to any site of natural disaster. The Club has also contributed to bring a supply of clean water to villages in sub- Saharan Africa through the charity ‘Water Aid’ as well as collecting spectacles for distribution in the Third World and books destined for abroad

This Committee also looks for ways to utilise the various skills and knowledge of the Club members in efforts to promote for the good of the community. Amongst regular activities are the Job Practice Interviews at Kirkwall Grammar and Stromness Academy.

Membership

The President appoints a Convener.

This Committee was set up in July 2015 to review membership, increase retention of members, look at club member’s skills and ensure they are utilized, provide guidance to Club on membership issues, improve community awareness of what Rotary is about, provide promotional information on the Club for public events.

Meetings

Weekly Meetings

The Club meets every Thursday at 12.45pm for 1.00pm in the Lynnfield Hotel. Lunch is followed by a short business meeting and then a speaker, a Club Member or guest, addresses the Club talking on any subject of his/her own choice and/or showing slides or a video. The member designated to speak can invite a non-member to speak on his behalf if he /she feels there is a topic of wider interest. At one meeting each month lunch is followed by Club business when the minutes of the preceding Club Council Meeting are discussed.

Attendance at Rotary

The attendance requirement is:

1. attend or make up at least 50% of club regular meetings or satellite club meetings or engage in club projects, other events and activities for at least 12 hours in each half of the year, or a proportionate combination of both; Example: Attend 6 lunchtime or evening meetings and 7 hours’ attendance at other events per half year.

2. attend at least 30% of this club’s regular meetings or satellite club meetings or engage in club projects, other events and activities in each half of the year (assistant governors, as defined by the Board of Directors of RI, shall be excused from this requirement). Example: Attend 9 meetings at the Orkney Club either at lunch or any other club meeting per half year.

If a member is to be absent from the Club for a continuous period of 3 weeks, the member should advise the Stewards, who have authority to grant "Excused Absence" for this period. For a member requiring leave of absence for longer than 3 weeks, the member should advise the Secretary, so that Club Council can approve the request. If you visit another Club whilst away from Orkney, please advise the Stewards upon your return and ensure that a ‘V’ is recorded against your name on the attendance sheets on the relative date of your visit’ otherwise the attendance will be lost to both you and the Club.

Introducing Visitors to weekly Club Meetings

A member may bring a guest to any normal meeting of the Club. Guests names, together with the name of the introducing Rotarian should be entered on the weekly list and if possible the guest should be introduced to the Club President before the meal starts

Assembly

Before the start of each Rotary year the District Governor attends the RI Assembly in Anaheim, USA and is informed of the plans for the forthcoming year. In late April senior District Officers are called to the RlBI Assembly in Birmingham to receive training for their posts. In May the District holds its own assembly, which is attended by the incoming Club President and other club officials.

The incoming District Governor then announces the plans of RI; Rotary GB&I and our District to the incoming team. The important meeting is our own Club Assembly held one evening in late May where the incoming club President and incoming Committee Conveners outline their plans for the forthcoming year, A District Officer is normally in attendance

Special and Annual General Meetings

The Club AGM is held in April and elects the Council for the forthcoming year. Because of the need for RI and Rotary GB&I handbooks to be printed and distributed in time for the new Rotary Year we have to hold a Special General Meeting preferably in December to elect the President and senior officers for the forthcoming year. A Special General Meeting is also required to approve the Treasurers accounts for the previous year and this is usually held on the November Business Meeting date.

Monthly Meetings

Meetings of the various Club Committees are held each month and normally last 1-2 hours. Whilst it is preferable for new members to be allocated to each committee on a rota basis this cannot always be guaranteed.

Publications

Club Directory

A copy of the Club Directory is issued to each Rotarian at the beginning of each Rotary year. The Directory contains the addresses and telephone numbers of each member; names of spouses as appropriate and membership of committees as well as details of the senior office bearers. In addition, a list of weekly speakers is also distributed together with a diary of events; meetings, etc. for the forthcoming year. This is updated during the year as things develop.

District Directory

This directory is issued to each Rotarian at the beginning of each Rotary year. The directory contains details of each Club in the District including President and Secretary details as well as the timings and locations of the weekly meetings. All District Officers details are also included.

Amendments to the Directory information are provided to the Club and are normally attached to the Council Meeting Minutes

The District issues an electronic magazine three times a year giving reports from many Clubs and containing articles of interest to members. It is called the 1010 Flyer.

The information in the directories should not be passed to outside parties (some telephone numbers are ex-directory) and must not be used for trade or other purposes.

Rotary Magazine

RI produces this magazine six times a year.

Introducing New Members

The Membership committee encourages the take up of membership and to whom a member may make a proposal of membership to be pursued.

Any member may propose a new member providing that they meet the various requirements laid down in the Constitution.

The committee or member may invite a potential member to lunch at the club expense on one occasion. Thereafter the potential member may visit the club at their own expense. This gives the opportunity for the person to meet with other Rotarians and vice-versa and for an opinion on suitability to be confirmed.

Application forms for proposing a member can be obtained from the Secretary and after being filled in by both the sponsor and proposed should be returned to the Secretary. The form should then be passed to the Information and Classification Committee. On the reverse of the Application Form there is a flow chart, which explains the whole process  

Subscriptions

Club membership fees are due at the beginning of the Rotary year (in July) but can be paid in two payments at 6 month intervals. The subscription level is reviewed annually by the Club following the presentation of the proposed Budget by the Treasurer, which takes into account necessary payments to RI and District together with the cost of running our own Club. The 2015/16 membership fee is £115.00.

Fellowship

As much as anything this is what Rotary fellowship is about.

What Rotary is not about is:

a) Being some kind of secret society and

b) ‘Scratching each other’s back’ in business.

Rotary is about developing acquaintances across a wide spectrum of professional and business activity ‘enjoying the company of a range of people with a range of experiences and interests - a number of which may well develop into friendships. Any Rotarian away from home on business or on holiday - is made welcome at any other Rotary Club anywhere in the world and immediately has access to guaranteed friends with an unrivalled local knowledge.