MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2017 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Burton, Michel, Barnett, Blackwell, Chassaniol, Clarke, DeBar, Dearing, Jackson (15th), Jackson (11th), Jackson (32nd), Kirby, Parker
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING ROTARY INTERNATIONAL AS MISSISSIPPI'S LARGEST SERVICE CLUB AND DESIGNATING FEBRUARY 23, 2017, AS "ROTARY DAY IN MISSISSIPPI."
WHEREAS, Rotary International, founded on February 23, 1905, in Chicago, Illinois, is the world's first and one of the largest nonprofit service organizations. Rotary was created because of the founders' wish to capture in a professional club the same friendly spirit they had felt in the small towns of their youth. The Rotary name was derived from the early practice of rotating meetings among members' offices; and
WHEREAS, Rotarians continue to take pride in their history. In honor of that first club, Rotarians have preserved its original meeting place, Room 711 in Chicago's Unity Building, by recreating the office as it existed in 1905. For several years, the Paul Harris 711 Club maintained the room as a shrine for visiting Rotarians. In 1993, the Rotary International Board of Directors set aside a permanent home for the restored Room 711 at Rotary International World Headquarters in the Chicago suburb of Evanston; and
WHEREAS, there are over 1.2 million Rotary Club members comprised of professional and business leaders in over 34,000 clubs in 200 countries and geographic areas; and
WHEREAS, the Rotary motto "Service Above Self" inspires members to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards, and promote goodwill and peace in the world; and
WHEREAS, Rotary International will in 2017 celebrate 100 years of the Rotary Foundation, which funds club projects and sponsors volunteers with community expertise to provide medical supplies, health care, clean water, food production, job training, and education to millions in need, particularly in developing countries. Rotary members, as volunteers, conduct projects to address today's humanitarian challenges, including illiteracy, disease, hunger, poverty, lack of clean water, and environmental concerns while encouraging high standards in all vocations. Rotary members strive to build goodwill and peace, and provide humanitarian service in their communities and throughout the world. "Rotary Day" is known as Rotary's "World Understanding and Peace Day"; and
WHEREAS, in 1985 Rotary launched PolioPlus and spearheaded efforts with the World Health Organization, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and UNICEF to immunize the children of the world against polio. Polio cases have dropped by 99% since 1988, and the world stands on the threshold of eradicating the disease; and
WHEREAS, to date, Rotary has contributed nearly $850 Million and countless volunteer hours to the protection of more than two billion children in 122 countries; and
WHEREAS, Rotary has raised $200 Million toward a $300 Million challenge grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for a total of $355 Million. These efforts are providing much-needed operational support, medical personnel, laboratory equipment, and educational materials for health workers and parents; and
WHEREAS, Rotary is the world's largest privately funded source of international scholarships and promotes international understanding through scholarships, exchange programs and humanitarian grants. About 40,000 students from 130 countries have studied abroad since 1947 as Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars. Rotary's Group Study Exchange Program has helped more than 67,000 young professionals explore their career fields in other countries. Seven thousand secondary school students each year experience life in another country through Rotary's Youth Exchange program; and
WHEREAS, there are over 100 Rotary Clubs throughout Mississippi sponsoring service projects to address such critical issues as poverty, health, hunger, illiteracy, and the environment in their local communities and abroad:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby recognize Rotary International as Mississippi's largest service club and designate February 23, 2017, as "Rotary Day in Mississippi," encouraging all citizens to join in recognizing Rotary International for its more than 110 years of service to improving human conditions in communities around the world.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to representatives of the Mississippi Rotary Clubs and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.