Vocational Service

Vocational Service involves club members serving others through their professions and aspiring to high ethical standards.  Rotarians, as business leaders, share skills and expertise through their vocations, and they inspire others in the process.

Rotary's emphasis on Vocational Service has its roots in the founding of the organization.  The original intent of the young lawyer, Paul Harris, was to bring together a circle of business and professional acquaintances.  And the use of the classification principle -- the guideline by which nearly all Rotary membership is determined -- assures that each club has among its members a cross-section of a community's business and professional population.  Since the founding of Rotary in 1905, Rotarians have always stressed high business ethics.

When professionals join a Rotary club, they do so as a representative of their particular business or profession.  This gives Rotarians the dual responsibility of representing their vocation within the club and of exemplifying the ideals of Rotary within the workplace.

Vocational Service focuses on:

• Adherence to, and promotion of, the highest ethical standards in all occupations, including fair treatment of employers, employees, associates, competitors, and the public.
  
• The recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations, not just your own or those that are pursued by Rotarians.
  
• The contribution of your vocational talents to the problems and needs of society.
  
• The values expressed in the 4-Way Test and the Declaration for Rotarians in Business and Professions, which promote high ethical standards in the workplace, a central theme of Rotary throughout its history.