About Rotary E-Club One
Rotary E-Club One was chartered January 4, 2002, as Rotary's first club with operations supported by electronic communications and the Internet.
The charter document was presented to Rotary E-Club One by the RI President Bhichai Rattakul in a formal ceremony at the Quad-District Foundation Dinner, January 18, 2002 in Denver, Colorado.
The mission of Rotary E-Club One is to connect, inform, inspire and involve our members.
To assist our mission we offer "Programs" (articles) and an on-line makeup feature that attracts Rotarians from around the globe. We currently have an average of 405 unique visitors per day, 7 days a week.
The on-line makeup feature received official recognition Monday, June 14, 2004, when the Council on Legislation 2004 adopted the Rotary E-Club One D5450 proposed enactment to add "To allow attendance credit for a 30-minute interactive club website activity" to the list of makeup venues in the standard Rotary Club Constitution and Bylaws.
Membership in Rotary E-Club One is not an "easy" option. Requirements for membership admission are stringent. For current Rotarians, Rotary E-Club One requires more reference checks than most typical Rotary clubs, including written references with "wet signatures" from the applicant's former Rotary club including the Club President, and three current Rotarians who will vouch for the applicant. Our rigorous screening of applicants is a necessary first step to ensure excellence.
Our members are Rotarians who sought membership of Rotary E-Club One because their professional commitments precluded them from participation in traditional Rotary clubs. Several of our members are professional and business leaders who travel constantly. Their membership of Rotary E-Club One gives them access to their Rotary e-club anywhere there is an Internet connection. Some are highly experienced Rotarians who have already contributed elsewhere as Club President or District Governor.
Each member of Rotary E-Club One must commit to a minimum of 12 hours personal service per calendar quarter. Many of our members exceed the minimum by many hours each quarter, a tangible demonstration of commitment to Service Above Self. The range and variety of service projects reflects the diverse community interests of our members.
Rotary E-Club One has successfully achieved a goal of US$100 per member per year in Annual Giving to The Rotary Foundation every year since our inception. We have actively supported Matching Grants, Polio Plus, and the Permanent Fund. The majority of our members are Paul Harris Fellows. The all time giving of Rotary E-Club One for the Annual Program Fund of The Rotary Foundation has exceeded US$100,000 since it began as a Rotary club in January, 2002. Members have also given to Donor Advised Funds, and there are 2 Major Donors in the current membership plus several PHF+8 members.
We have a weekly fellowship meeting on-line through our Fellowship Forum in our members' clubhouse. Also, with teleconferences, collaboration software, VoIP (Skype and Freshtel Firefly), smart phone, email and face-to-face meetings in various regional venues, we have become a cohesive group of friends who share.
We provide an opportunity for all our members to meet face-to-face once a year at our Annual Dinner, held in conjunction with the Rotary International Convention.
