|
|
| SEARCH |
Basil Lewis |
| HE PROFITS MOST WHO SERVES (THE) BEST Revised 2/6/07 |
| When the first Rotary
clubs were formed at the end of the first decade of The 20th century,
they were almost all unashamedly business orientated. Members would
recount dealings with fellow members, and in some clubs, these were even
recorded in a 'Transactions Book'. There was a feeling, however, that
the efforts of such a group of worthy and influential men should be put
to more charitable use in their communities, and 'Service' became a key
word in Rotary. In 1909, Rotary adopted the motto - "He profits most who
serves best". This slogan had originally been devised by
Arthur Sheldon,
in a journal he edited, called 'The Business Philosopher'. Because it appeared to give an 'ethical' tone to an organization that was predominantly there for mutual business opportunities, this motto caused much criticism. Curiously, although Sheldon was involved in the starting of clubs in Britain, British Rotarians never really took on the motto. There seems to have been an in-built antagonism to imported slogans, although the British clubs were happy enough to give 'service’ and their efforts particularly during the two world wars, amply testified to this. As a matter of interest, in 1949, RIBI actually decided officially not to promote the slogan on the grounds that it appeared to give undue emphasis to 'profit', While the rest of Rotary continued to use the slogan, indeed, it still appears on the website of such clubs as Salida RC, there was a growing feeling that some modification was needed, if only to the word 'He'!! Thus in 2004, the Council on Legislation decided to change the motto to "They profit most who serve best", thereby removing gender specific terminology. In practice, this slogan is rarely used in Rotary although it is still a Secondary motto. Basil Lewis |
RGHF members, who have been invited to this page, may register RGHF members, who have been invited to this page, may register If a DGE/N/D joins prior to their year, they will have more exposure to Rotary's Global History by their service year. This will be beneficial to all concerned. *Based on paid members, subscribers, Facebook friends, Twitter followers, mobile app users, History Library users, web pages, and articles about Rotary's Global History RGHF Home | Disclaimer | Privacy | Usage Agreement | RGHF on Facebook | Subscribe | Join RGHF | |