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The world's first service
club, the Rotary Club of Chicago, was formed on 23
February 1905 by Paul P. Harris, an attorney who wished to
capture in a professional club the same friendly spirit he
had felt in the small towns of his youth. The Rotary name
derived from the early practice of rotating meetings among
members' offices.
Rotary's
popularity spread, and within a decade, clubs were chartered
from San Francisco to New York to Winnipeg, Canada. By 1921,
Rotary clubs had been formed on six continents. The
organization adopted the Rotary International name a year
later. As Rotary grew, its mission expanded beyond serving
club members’ professional and social interests. Rotarians
began pooling their resources and contributing their talents
to help serve communities in need. The organization's
dedication to this ideal is best expressed in its motto:
Service Above Self. By 1925, Rotary had grown to 200 clubs
with more than 20,000 members. The organization's
distinguished reputation attracted presidents, prime
ministers, and a host of other luminaries to its ranks —
among them author Thomas Mann, diplomat Carlos P. Romulo,
humanitarian Albert Schweitzer, and composer Jean Sibelius.
As it approached the 21st century, Rotary worked to meet
society’s changing needs, expanding its service efforts to
address such pressing issues as environmental degradation,
illiteracy, world hunger, and children at risk.
Today, 1.2
million Rotarians belong to over 32,000 Rotary clubs in more
than 200 countries and geographical areas. Rotary Club of
Madras Southwest started on 01-11-1980 and chartered on
16-06-1981. Started by Rotary Club of Madras G.S.R and
leaded by Rtn. Dr. Sundararaman.
Constitution
and Byelaw |
Past Presidents and Past Secretaries
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