Vocational Service
The Professional Service Award of the Rotary Club of North Bethesda
Background: Rotary International consists of leaders in business and the professions who are organized into local clubs. The purpose of Rotary is to promote the highest standards of conduct for the sake of more cordial, respectful and rewarding human relations. Rotary clubs are not chiefly charitable organizations but are devoted to strengthening the bonds among people. Rotarians subscribe to and try to put into practice the Rotary Four-Way-Test:
- Is it the truth?
- Is it fair to all concerned?
- Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
- Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
The test implies a need for cultivating certain character traits that make possible this kind of conduct.
Persons are selected for membership in Rotary who are respected for high, humane standards in their lines of work and who want to advance the common good in their community through collective effort. By pooling and directing the diverse and considerable expertise, experience and influence of members, a Rotary club can help move their society in the desirable direction.
On the basis of a home-grown spirit of professional service Rotary International undertakes projects involving many clubs to promote the same general purpose on a larger scale.
The award: In order to encourage professional activity in the community that accords with the Rotary Four Way Test, the Rotary Club of North Bethesda wishes to recognize exceptional civicmindedness by awarding its Professional Service Award. It is intended for a person whose contribution to the comity and well-being of the community can serve as a model and inspiration for others. The Club believes that the quality of community life can be enhanced through a wide variety of activity, such as journalism, education, the arts, healthcare, business, religion, and charitable work.
The Professional Service Award of the Rotary Club of North Bethesda is handed out once a year in the spring after careful review of nominations and more informal suggestions. A selection committee recommends an awardee to the Club’s Board of Directors, which makes the final decision.
The Club invites suggestions.
The Club operates as a hybrid club, allowing members to log on for meetings virtually when traveling or unable to attend in person.
For more information, please contact us via email: nbrc1974@gmail.com
Vocational Service
The Rotary Club of North Bethesda places special emphasis on Vocational Service.
The Club associates this service with The Rotary Four-Way Test and with what is distinctive to members of Rotary, that they should be leaders within their respective professions. The essence of vocational service is that members, in their capacities as leaders in business, education, government, engineering, medicine, the law, trade and other fields act in concert, bringing the expertise and experience they have to bear on community needs.
Vocational service rarely or only incidentally involves charitable projects of the kind undertaken by such worthy organizations as Lions, Kiwanis, the Salvation Army, or churches. A Rotary vocational service project mobilizes and pools the professional resources of members in ways that will raise the moral and other standards of their communities.
Vocational service is an attempt to mitigate dissonance, tension, and general social problems in the community in line with the ethos of the Four-Way Test. A good vocational service project matches and draws upon the expertise and synergy available in the particular club.
