Welcome to Niantic Rotary of Connecticut. We are a chapter of Rotary International.
The world's first service club, the Rotary Club of Chicago, was formed in 1905 by Paul Harris, an attorney who wished to recapture in a professional club the same friendly spirit he had felt in the small towns of his youth. The name “Rotary” derived from the early practice of rotating meetings among members' offices. Rotary’s popularity spread throughout the United States in the decade that followed. By 1921, Rotary clubs were formed on six continents, and, in recognition of its worldwide thrust, the organization adopted the new name Rotary International. The growth in Rotary International has been impressive. As of June 30, 2001, there were approximately 1.2 million members distributed among over 30,000 Rotary clubs located in 163 countries. The object of ROTARY is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as the basis of worthy enterprise. In time, this concept of service has greatly expanded to the point that today's Rotary clubs are organized around four service areas called the Avenues of Service.
- CLUB SERVICE-providing service to the Rotary Club to enable it to run efficiently and the spirit of fellowship;
- VOCATIONAL SERVICE-putting high standards of conduct into practice in the business and professional lives of Rotarians;
- COMMUNITY SERVICE-identifying needs in the Rotary clubs community and addressing these needs with service projects;
- INTERNATIONAL SERVICE-working for international understanding and peace by promoting good will among all people.
The real work of ROTARY takes place before and after the membership meetings when Rotarians plan and carry out a remarkable variety of humanitarian and educational service projects that touch people's lives in their local communities and our world community through the work of the ROTARY FOUNDATION of Rotary International.