You are here: Rotary » Rotary International & District 1240

Rotary International

Rotary is organized at club, district, and international levels to support local and international projects that help others around the world. Rotarians are members of their clubs, and the clubs are members of the global association known as Rotary International. Each club elects its own officers and enjoys considerable autonomy within the framework of the standard constitution and the constitution and bylaws of Rotary International.

Clubs are grouped into Rotary districts, each led by a district governor who is an officer of Rotary International (RI) and represents the RI board of directors in the field.

The board of directors includes the international president and president-elect and administers Rotary International. These officers, along with district governors, are elected at the RI convention; the selection process for choosing directors and the nominating committee for president is based on zones, each of which comprises approximately 15 districts. The RI board meets quarterly to establish policies.

While the Rotary International president is the highest officer of RI, the chief administrative officer of RI is the general secretary, who heads a staff of about 600 persons working at the international headquarters in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois, USA, or in one of seven international offices around the world.

For more information, please visit the Rotary International web site.

Club Administration

Rotary clubs operate under the Standard Rotary Club Constitution, originally adopted in 1922. It contains the club's name, definition of its territorial limits, and rules for regular club meetings, membership, attendance, admission fees and dues. It provides for a board of directors as the club's governing body and a president and other officers. Their terms of office - like those of international and district officers - begin on 1 July each year.

A club's bylaws further define its operating procedures as laid out in the club's constitution. Most Rotary clubs adapt the Recommended Rotary Club Bylaws to reflect their operations and goals. The recommended bylaws include a club committee structure to carry out the annual and long-range goals of the club.

District Administration

The chief officer of a Rotary district is called the district governor, and each of these governors is considered an officer of the international organization. There are about 530 districts, but the number changes as Rotary grows. Typically, a district consists of about 45 Rotary clubs.

The governors serve one year, providing leadership and guidance to help clubs strengthen the programs of Rotary within the district.

Annually, each district governor convenes a conference, lasting two or three days, to further Rotary's program within the district. The conference can legislate on matters of concern to the district and may consider special matters submitted to it by the RI Board. It also may propose legislation for consideration by the next triennial Council on Legislation.

Braintree Rivers Rotary Club are members of District 1240, which covers most of Essex, part of Hertfordshire and on the Western boundary, a little of London.

The District has around 1700 Rotarians spread over 57 Clubs.

For more information, please visit the District 1240 web site.