Rotary District 7150's Paul Harris Society Charter Members

Paul Harris Society of District 7150

Each donor who annually contributes $1,000 to the Rotary Foundation will be awarded membership in the Paul Harris Society of District 7150. Society members will receive special District-wide recognition, a Certificate of PHS membership, and a distinctive gold & blue emblem which is worn with their Rotary pin. For further information,email PDG Marlene Brown.

Frequently Asked Questions
Do contributions to The Permanent Fund count toward membership in the PHS? Answer: No!

Do my monthly credit card contributions count toward membership in the PHS? Answer: Yes... as long as you have so stipulated your monthly contributions are to go to Annual Giving or Restricted Giving, which could be PolioPlus... for example.

Does my $1,000 each fiscal year to TRF's Annual Giving and/or Restricted Giving include my partner if we’re a community-property state? Answer: No! Each donor must give $1,000 to be a member of the PHS.

Where do I send my $1,000? Answer: The donation flows through the club as any donation to TRF normally does. Donors are asked to make their checks payable to The Rotary Foundation, with the completed Contribution/Recognition Form RF-123 - download here - attach the check to the Form and send to RI for processing. A copy of that form also needs to be mailed or faxed (853-4636) to PDG Marlene for our PH Society District records.

If I give $5,000 to TRF's Annual and/or Restricted Giving in one year, can I qualify for an ongoing PHS member for five years? Answer: Yes! but be advised that by making a contribution of $1,000 annually to the Annual Programs Fund of The Rotary Foundation, we ensure that our District has ample District Designated Funds every year for humanitarian and educational programs. The year in which you make a contribution to the Annual Programs Fund -50% of that will becomes available back to the district in three years.

Do PHS donations also count toward Major Donor Status? Answer: Yes! Donations can be designated for either the Polio Plus program or the Annual Funds and will count towards Paul Harris Fellowship and eventual Major Donor status

District 7150's Paul Harris Society Charter Members

At the 2007 District Conference, District Governor Marlene Brown and husband, Earl Lewis (President of Rotary eClub NY1 & District Grants Chair) were formally inducted into the Paul Harris Society.

At the 2007 Rotary Foundation Dinner, Paul Scott joined Earl & Marlene as Paul Harris Society Members, recognized by former R. I. Vice President Mike McGovern, that night's Keynote Speaker.

Current Members as of 2010:
Joining Rotarians PDG Marlene Brown, PDRFC Earl Lewis, and current DG Paul Scott, are PDG Jerry Gortner and Rotary eClub member Robert Walton.

We invite you to join them! Email Marlene for more information or fax her your form when you've joined, and we'll arrange to get your Certificate awarded to you!

The Paul Harris Society History
In 1999, District 5340 originated The Paul Harris Society, which is a new level of recognition for those donors who chose to give $1,000 or more each fiscal year to The Rotary Foundation.

Annual Giving and Restricted Giving but not Permanent Fund contributions qualify donors for The Paul Harris Society and also Paul Harris Fellowship credit. Members proudly wear their PHS lapel banner and receives special recognition during certain district events.

With the ever-increasing involvement of our clubs in Foundation Programs, the need was apparent to increase our contributions to The Rotary Foundation. The Rotary Foundation through the SHARE Program and World Fund provide major fuel to our participation in Foundation Programs such as Matching Grants, Group Study Exchange, Rotary Volunteers, Village Banks, Ambassadorial Scholarships, Grants For University Teachers, and District Simplified Grants.

Today, there are over 50 districts across the United States who have adopted The Paul Harris Society with more in the formative stages. The Trustees of Rotary International have blessed this new level of recognition but have not formally adopted it to date.

Paul Harris history: Paul Harris, the founder of Rotary, was born in Racine, Wisconsin, USA, on April 19, 1868, but moved at the age of 3 to Wallingford, Vermont, to be raised by his grandparents. In the forward to his autobiography My Road to Rotary, he credits the friendliness and tolerance he found in Vermont as his inspiration for the creation of Rotary.

Trained as a lawyer, Paul gave himself five years after his graduation from law school in 1891 to see as much of the world as possible before settling down and hanging out his shingle. During that time, he traveled widely, supporting himself with a great variety of jobs. He worked as a reporter in San Francisco, a teacher at a business college in Los Angeles, a cowboy in Colorado, a desk clerk in Jacksonville, Florida, a tender of cattle on a freighter to England, and as a traveling salesman for a granite company, covering both the U.S. and Europe.

Remaining true to his five-year plan, he settled in Chicago in 1896, and it was there on the evening of February 23, 1905, that he met with three friends to discuss his idea for a businessmen's club. This is commonly regarded as the first Rotary club meeting. Over the next five years, the movement spread as Rotary clubs were formed in other U.S. cities.

When the National Association of Rotary Clubs held its first convention in 1910, Paul was elected president. After his term, and as the organization's only president-emeritus, Paul continued to travel extensively, promoting the spread of Rotary both in the USA and abroad. A prolific writer, Paul wrote several books about the early days of the organization and the role he was privileged to play in it. These include The Founder of Rotary, This Rotarian Age and the autobiographical My Road to Rotary. He also wrote several volumes of Perigrinations detailing his many travels. He died in Chicago on January 27, 1947.