Issue 2004/1

Businessmen dedicate their leisure
to Rotary activities

Zita Tallat-Kelpsaite
Member of the Rotary club "Adite"

On February 7 a new Rotary club Maris was inaugurated in Klaipeda. Lene Schmidt-Petersen, president of the Ostre sponsor club of the Danish town Odense handed in the regalia to president of the new club, president of the Lithuanian Ship Owners' Association Valdemaras Vaicekauskas. She also handed in Rotary badges, the symbol of a wheel, to 24 members of this club.
Maris unites people having their own business or working in leading positions. According to president Valdemaras Vaicekauskas, the goal of the club is to promote high ethical standards in business and professional activities, to spread goodwill and community service. It is already the third Rotary club in the Lithuanian seaport.

Lithuanian women - the first in the world

The first men's club founded in Klaipeda 13 years ago now unites almost forty members.
Two years later, in the summer of 1993, one more club started its activities. It was a special case, because the new club organised by procurator Nijole Pozarskiene, the present chairwoman of the Lithuanian Rotary Committee, united active women of the seaport. It was the first women's Rotary club in Europe. With mighty power women broke into the purely masculine Rotary movement where the members call each other brothers. And they were Lithuanian women!
Now the club named after the sovereign of the universe Adite unites over thirty sisters. Adite is considered one of the most active clubs in the region, and probably not only in the region…
The club Arta founded in Panevezys in 1999 unites both men and women engaged in Rotary activities.
The Rotary movement in Lithuania started in Kaunas in 1934. After three years a Rotary club was established in Siauliai, two years later - in Vilnius.
In 1940 all these clubs were forced to cease their activities and they were recommenced only in 1991.
At present there are 30 Rotary clubs in Lithuania uniting about 1,000 brothers and sisters and 4 Rotaract clubs for young people of both sexes.
According to the rules of the world Rotary movement club presidents are re-elected every year by rotation principle.

Rotary symbol - a turning wheel

The start of the international Rotary movement dates back to February 23 , 1905. On that day Paul Harris Fellow, a lawyer from Chicago, invited three friends to a meeting and shared with them his long-cherished idea to establish a club uniting business people of various vocations and fostering fellowship between them. Although on that day the four colleagues did not give any name to their meeting, actually that was the first Rotary meeting in the world.
The name 'Rotary' originated from the practice to arrange meetings in a new place each time because they were always organised by a different member. One of the members suggested to depict in the emblem of the club a gear wheel, which would perfectly reflect the name and the spirit of the club.
Three years later the second Rotary club was founded in San Francisco, and in 1911 Rotary became an international organization.
In the 30-ies the Rotary movement spread over the continental Europe, South America, Africa, Australia, Asia. The goal of the movement was community service.

A test suitable for business and Rotary movement

In mid 40-ies businessman Herbert J. Taylor, member of Chicago Rotary club, who was looking for ways to save an aluminium company facing a bankruptcy, drew up a code of ethics to be followed by all employees: "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 test that became the guide in business practice, was introduced in Rotary activities, and in 1942 it was officially legitimated.
H.J.Taylor, president of Rotary International (RI) in 1954-1955, during the golden anniversary of this international organization passed to RI the copyrights of this test.
Now every new member of a Rotary club gets this test upon enrolment and must sacredly follow the four principles.

Scandal because of women

Approaching its 100-th anniversary, the Rotary movement has proved that it is capable of adapting to the changing needs of the society. Rotarians turn their attention to the problems of environmental protection, illiteracy, and the social status of women.
As a matter of fact, even in such tolerant movement as Rotary, women were at the root of some serious conflicts. In 1978 the Rotary club of California challenged the hierarchy of men by accepting to the club two females. This violated the RI Constitution and the activity of the club was suspended. Only after nine years the US Supreme Court interpreted that such decision was compatible with the amendment of the US Constitution. Taking into account this fact, the Board of Directors of RI passed an official resolution allowing to enrol women of high qualifications in Rotary clubs of all American states.
In 1989 it was decided that women could also become members of a Rotary club. Constitutional documents of Rotary International were amended accordingly.
However, according to Nijole Pozarskiene, chairwoman of the Lithuanian Rotary Committee, even after this decision it was difficult to register a women's Rotary club. The club Adite also experienced some difficulties, the reluctance to inaugurate the club was felt two years after its establishment. But the resolute determination of Klaipedians helped to break the worldwide tradition, and the successful activity of the club proved that it had not been in vain. Later not a single women's club was allowed to inaugurate, although there were such attempts. Women were allowed to participate only in the activities of mixed clubs.
That means that women in Europe and the United States are still discriminated, thinks N.Pozarskiene, leader of the Rotary movement in Lithuania.
Presently Rotary International has1.2 million members and unites some 90,000 women Rotarians. 29,000 Rotary clubs operate in 160 countries world-wide.