Join Rotary
How to Be a Rotarian
West Salem Rotary is one of seven Salem area Rotary Clubs, so you have a lot of options. We hope you’ll join West Salem! We have a great Club with a fun and energetic personality. The club has about 45 members now with a goal of 55 members.
How to Join Rotary
Here are the basic steps involved in becoming a Rotary member.
- Express Your Interest. If you know someone in the club, just ask to be invited to a meeting or fill out the contact form below. Your host will give you an application at the meeting.
- Attend a meeting. You will be invited to attend a meeting to meet the other Rotarians and learn about the Club. Your application will be processed according to Rotary’s procedures and you will be notified of official acceptance.
- Receive your membership badge, begin attending meetings. Once you join, you will wear a red badge until several tasks are complete, including: serving as a greeter for four meetings, attending another club or other Rotary function, getting assigned to a committee, and having all the club members sign your welcome sheet 3.
- Pay Rotary dues. Club dues go to support both our local club and Rotary District 5100 and Rotary International services for members. Dues are $200 a year. New members pay prorated dues the first year depending on the month they join. The dues year starts July 1.
If you have any questions about membership, contact our Membership Chair, Bryan Brown at [email protected].
What is a Rotarian?
Rotarians are business and professional leaders who take an active role in their communities while greatly enriching their personal and professional lives. A Rotary club contains a diverse group of professional leaders from the community that the club serves. Rotarians are members of Rotary clubs. Rotary clubs belong to Rotary International. To become a Rotarian, you must be invited to join a Rotary club by a member of that club.
A qualified candidate for Rotary club membership is an adult of good character and good business, professional or community reputation. The candidate fits one of the following criteria:
- Holds or has held an executive position with discretionary authority in any worthy and recognized business or profession.
- Serves or has served as a community leader.
- Seeks to broaden their involvement with the community and their world through Rotary.
- Has a schedule flexible enough to attend a Rotary meeting approximately once a week.
- Has the time and interest in giving back to the Salem community through projects organized by Rotary.
Membership Q & A
Q: What if I don’t think I can come to the lunch meeting every week?
A: You don’t have to come every week, but certainly try to get to at least 3 out of 4. If you can’t make it any Rotary activity qualifies as a make up. In West Salem Rotary you can attend a different Rotary Club meeting in Salem, go to a Rotary board meeting, attend a berry delivery site (in June and July, that’s our big fundraiser), or go to any of our social functions.
Q: How much does Rotary cost?
A: Our dues are $200 a year. New members dues are prorated depending on the month the new member joins the club.
We also have three social functions (dinners) that run between $20 and $50. Also, save a dollar or two for the at lunch meetings, you might get “fined” a dollar by the Sergeant at Arms for silly minor things. Its all in fun.
Q: What if I don’t live in West Salem?
A: Most members are from the West Salem area or work in West Salem. However, you can live anywhere as long as the meeting time (Monday’s at noon) is convenient. Many members have children or grandchildren in West Salem Schools.
Q: How long are the lunch meetings and what goes on there?
A: Lunch meetings begin at noon with 15 minutes of fellowship. At 12:10, the president will “ring the bell” and we say the flag salute, a brief “thought of the day” or invocation and a reciting of the “Four Way Test.” After a few minutes of announcements, the members will pay a dollar to “boast” then the Sergeant at Arms will work the room. After that the speaker comes up for about 20 minutes. We are done at 1:00.