Rotary was founded on February 23, 1905 in Chicago by Paul Harris, a young lawyer with three other businessmen
Silvester Schiele, a coal merchant;
Gustavus Loehr, a mining engineer;
and Hiram Shorey, a merchant tailor.
Mr. Harris' original intention was to make friends and at the same time create a business network with a set of ethical standards known as the Four Way Test.

Is it the TRUTH?
Is it FAIR to all concerned?
Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS ?
Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

The new club was named "Rotary" because members met in rotation at their various places of business. This was done so that the members would acquaint each with one another's vocations and to promote business amongst each other - persons that could be trusted. Pretty soon, other people in the community wanted to do business with those merchants.

Soon after its inception, Rotary changed its original focus to a service-driven organization. Today, Rotary's motto is "service above self." Rotary members meet weekly to plan service activities and projects based on local needs and the interests and abilities of members in four avenues of service - Club Service, Vocational Service, Community Service and International Service.

Membership in a Rotary Club is by invitation and it is based on Mr. Harris' paradigm of choosing a maximum number of representatives of each business, profession and institution in the community. The idea behind this concept is that it fosters a fellowship for service based on diversity of interest, and seeks to prevent the predominance in the club of any one group.