PAUL P. HARRIS

“Whatever Rotary may mean to us, to the world it will be known by the results it achieves.”
Paul P. Harris

Now a 1.2-million-member organisation, Rotary started with the vision of one man; Paul P. Harris. After setting up his law practice in Chicago, Harris gathered several business associates to discuss the idea of forming an organisation for local professionals. He envisioned a place where professionals of diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas and form meaningful, lifelong friendships. “I was sure that there must be many other young men who had come from farms and small villages to establish themselves in Chicago ... Why not bring them together? If others were longing for fellowship as I was, something would come of it.”