Rotary - Service above Self

Rotary was founded in 1905 and is the world's first and largest service organization. The Rotary motto is "Service above Self." It is a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders that provides humanitarian service, encourages high ethical standards in all vocations, and helps build goodwill and peace in the world. Over 1.2 million Rotarians belong to more than 32,000 clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas.

Rotary clubs carry out a variety of service projects addressing poverty, hunger, illiteracy, substance abuse, pollution and many other local, national and international challenges. They also build lasting friendships and have a lot of fun.

The Rotary Club of Pulaski County was formed in 2002. Since its inception, it has been focused on service and working with area youth, as well as providing a visible presence in our community.

For its Centennial Project, the club partnered with the City of St. Robert to fund and construct the skateboard park located at St. Robert's Community Center. It is currently considering efforts to upgrade and improve the park.

Rotarians participate in Veterans Day parade

The club has presented a number of Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA), sponsoring local outstanding high school students to attend RYLA camps for young leaders. The club has also sponsored three high school exchange students, two from Germany and one from Thailand.

To encourage superior performance by middle school students, the club sponsors a Student of the Month program for middle school students in the Waynesville School District. Students and their parents are guests of the club at a monthly luncheon and each student receives an award.

As part of one Rotary Club of Pulaski County's projects working with area youth, Mike True presents the Choices program in an 8th grade classroom.

The Rotary Club has partnered with the Waynesville/St. Robert Chamber of Commerce for the last two years to conduct the nationally-recognized CHOICES program to every 8th grade student in Pulaski County (in Crocker, Dixon, Laquey, Richland, Swedeborg, and Waynesville). This in-school program, conducted by volunteers from the business community, encourages young people to think about what they want to do with their lives and gives them a number of tools to help them focus their energies on activities that will have a positive, life-long impact on them and their families and friends. This year, the program reached almost 600 students in 28 classrooms!

The club is currently partnering with the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) and the Waynesville School District for the second year to support the district's science fair program, which will include over 1,300 kids. The future goal is to extend this support of science, technology, engineering and math initiatives to all districts in the county.

Service to youth, especially children at risk, is a major emphasis for Rotary International, Rotary's parent organization. Eradicating polio is a top Rotary priority that requires the immunization of every child under five in the world. As a result of the efforts of Rotary and its global partners, more than one billion children have been immunized against polio since 1985. The goal is that soon the
world will be entirely polio-free.

Before eradication efforts began in 1988, polio paralyzed more than 1,000 children a day.

Potable water is a world-wide concern with many people in the world not being able to take clean water for granted. The club is working with professors and students at the Missouri University of Science and Technology to help villagers in Guatemala maintain safe wells and install sanitary water distribution systems.

In April, the club will serve as hosts for a Rotary Group Study Exchange (GSE) group traveling from Nigeria. Club members will show the group our area, including interfacing with Rolla and Salem clubs. Members of the Nigerian team will include one Rotarian and four professional people from Nigeria. The team will include a physician, an administrator for a diplomatic mission, a business developer, a Telecommunications manager, and a quality controller for an animal feed manufacturer.

Rotary places a strong emphasis on ethics in all aspects of a member's business and social life.

Club members have been known to do wild things for good causes. The Rotary "Red-Hot Red-Hatters" have helped raise funds for the Armed Services YMCA at the last three annual Fabulous Fakes events. Rumor is that they will be back for this year's event.

Rotarians Ron Selfors, Brad Budolfson, son-of-a-Rotarian Brad Gifford, and Rotarian Don Murray vamp it up to earn money at the 2008 Fabulous Fakes.

Each member pledges to apply the Rotary
Four-Way Test to "the things we think, say or do." The test is:

(1) Is it the truth?

(2) Is it fair to all concerned?

(3) Will it build goodwill and better
relationships?

(4) Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

The Pulaski County Rotary Club is looking for business and community leaders across Pulaski County to join the organization. The club is a "by-invitation" membership organization, but they do encourage individuals to inquire and attend a meeting to explore Rotary membership.

The Pulaski County Club meets every Tuesday at 11:45 at Area 151 (formerly Adonia's) in St. Robert. Please contact Wayne Strohschein at 573-336-8328 or another member if you would like to attend as a member's guest for the day.

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