Senators Gilbert, Birkholz, Allen, Jelinek, Hardiman, Van Woerkom, Brown, Hammerstrom, Stamas, Garcia, Olshove, Cherry, Toy, Goschka, Kuipers, Jacobs and Schauer offered the following resolution:

Senate Resolution No. 7.

A resolution designating February 23, 2005, as Rotary Day in Michigan in honor of Rotary International’s centennial celebration.

Whereas, The Rotary Club of Chicago was founded on February 23, 1905, when Chicago attorney Paul Harris invited three business associates to a meeting to form a club to share "mutual cooperation and informal friendship such as all of us had once known in our villages"; and

Whereas, By 1921, Rotary Clubs had been formed on six continents, and the name Rotary International was adopted in 1922; and

Whereas, As Rotary International grew, its focus changed from serving the business and professional needs of its members to serving communities in need, as expressed in its motto "Service Above Self"; and

Whereas, The Rotary Foundation, established in 1928, today garners contributions exceeding $80 million annually to support a range of humanitarian grants and educational programs; and

Whereas, In 1985, Rotary International made a commitment to immunize all of the world’s children against polio, and by the centennial of Rotary in 2005, more than $500 million will have been committed to the eradication of polio; and

Whereas, Rotary International, approaching its 100th Anniversary, consists of 1.2 million members in some 31,000 Rotary clubs in 166 countries, all committed to addressing such problems as environmental degradation, illiteracy, world hunger, and children at risk; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate, That we hereby designate February 23, 2005, as Rotary Day in Michigan in honor of the numerous and ongoing contributions of Rotary International to communities throughout the world, this nation, and our state; and be it further

Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to the president of Rotary International as a token of our congratulations upon this noteworthy occasion.