About The Odessa Rotary Club
ROTARY INFORMATION
ROTARY is an
organization of business and professional persons, united world
wide, who provide humanitarian service and encourage high ethical
standards in all vocations and build goodwill and peace in the
world.
ORGANIZATION
The Odessa
Rotary Club was organized on March 03, 1938 and admitted to Rotary
International on March 09, 1938. There were twenty charter members
with Joe W. Pryon being elected President, Thomas D. Murphy, Vice
President, and Morris Bendix, Club Secretary-Treasurer. The
formation of the Odessa Club was sponsored by the Big Spring Rotary
Club, and in the beginning, the regular luncheon meetings of the
Club were held on Friday of each week in the Elliott Hotel. In
later years, the meeting date was changed to Wednesdays, with the
weekly luncheons being held in the Inn of the Golden West. Several
years ago, the Club moved its meetings to Odessa College.
When the Club
received its charter from Rotary International, J. Edd McLaughlin,
District Governor and later President of Rotary International, was
present. Elmo Wasson, later President, was instrumental in the
organization of the Club. The meeting was held in the Odessa High
School auditorium.
The Club
leadership consists of five officers, six directors and the
immediate past president. Under each director are committees that
carry out the work and programs of the Club.
MEETINGS
The Club is a
member of Rotary International and of District 5730. The meeting
time and place is 12:00 noon on Wednesday in the 2nd
floor of the Student Union Building at Odessa College.
Usually, there
will be two luncheons during the year to which your spouse will be
invited. These will be the Valentines Day and Christmas Programs.
Also, there may be one or more evening socials during the year for
fellowship and Rotary information.
There are one or two day District Assembly meetings held in different
locations within the district to brief incoming officers and inform
members about the activities of Rotary.
There is an
annual District Conference in our district attended by members from
the 55 clubs, which make up the District. The District Governor holds
the annual District Conference at a different city each year. All new
members are urged and encouraged to attend a District Conference as
soon as possible in order to learn what other rotary clubs are doing.
There is also an
International Conference. This conference is held annually in
countries all over the world. The incoming President of the Odessa
Rotary Club attends the annual International Conference on behalf of
the Club. However, all members are encouraged to attend.
DUES AND
FUND RAISING
The Rotary Club
has two main fundraisers. The Club sponsors a Mexican Dinner at both
high schools on the night of the PHS vs. OHS football game. Each
member of the Club is billed $75.00 for ten (10) $7.50 tickets, which
the member can either sell or give away. The second main fundraiser
is a car raffle, which provides funding to the Club and the Permian
Basin Rehabilitation Center. Each member is encouraged to sell the
car raffle tickets at $100.00 each, but there is no commitment.
The initiation
fee for the Odessa Rotary Club is $50.00. This fee is used to help
defray the expense of the Rotary lapel pin, name badges and
publications that are made available to members.
Dues are $150.00
per quarter, which includes the cost of the meals, dues to the Club,
District and International Dues, and a subscription to The Rotarian, a
monthly publication of Rotary International with stories about the
world of Rotary. Members are encouraged to bring guests to the Rotary
Meetings and will be billed for the meals of guests at $8.00 per
meal. If your guest joins Rotary, you will be reimbursed for one
guest meal.
ATTENDANCE
Members are billed for
dues regardless of attendance at the weekly meetings. Rotary
International requires regular attendance. Members failing to
maintain a minimum 60% attendance may be removed from the membership.
A make-up will maintain the attendance requirement and can be done
within 14 days before or after the meeting missed. There are two
other Rotary Clubs in Odessa where make-ups can be made. All Rotary
Clubs welcome guest Rotarians. The Club Secretary has a directory of
the meeting day and time for every Rotary Club in the world. In
addition, participation in Club committee meetings and activities
count as make-ups. Rotary International also provides members with a
make-up option on the Rotary website. |
