President’s Message

Rotary is an organization of business and professional people united worldwide who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and supports goodwill and peace in the world. Our Rotary motto is "Service Above Self' and with our time and energy we try to “Do Good in the World.” As Rotarians we honor what we called the Rotary Four-Way Test:
 
 
 
THE FOUR-WAY TEST
of the things we think, say and do:
first:
Is it the TRUTH?
second:
Is it fair to all CONCERNED?
third:
Will it build GOODWILL
and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
fourth:
Will it be BENEFICIAL
to all concerned?
 
The Rotary Club of San Bernardino was first conceived on November 5, 1918, when five men, standing in the cigar store of William H. Billingsley in San Bernardino, heard and liked Dr. Russell D. Marvin's description of the Rotary Organization first established in Chicago in 1905 by founder Paul Harris.  These five agreed to meet for a luncheon that day at the Stewart Hotel in downtown San Bernardino. Continuing with the idea of forming a Rotary club affiliated with the International Association of Rotary Clubs.  The five men met again one week later on Tuesday, November 12, 1918, in the Stewart Hotel and each of these five men brought a guest.  Hence, the Rotary Club of San Bernardino was established.  This Rotary year 2015-2016 will be our 103rd year of Rotary.  The Club was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Los Angeles, called L.A. Five, which was the fifth Rotary Club to be chartered by Rotary International.  Our original club number was 494 since we were the 494th Rotary Club to be chartered.  When you consider today there are more than 35,000 Rotary Clubs in existence, you can really see we were one of the first. The Rotary Club of San Bernardino was among the first 2% of Rotary Clubs ever established. We have a long history of which to be proud. Our work today continues to supports our history.
 
This year, we continue our commitment to providing leadership training and college scholarships to high school students through our Rotary Life Interact Program. We also continue our commitment to improving literacy by distributing dictionaries to third-grade students in San Bernardino schools. We honor local teachers that teach good values through our Character Education Awards. We provide international assistance and promote world peace through clean drinking water programs, foreign exchange programs, and the eradication of polio worldwide. 
 
Our theme for this year is fun, friendship, and community service. If you would like to find more our more about Rotary and the Rotary Club of San Bernardino, please join us for lunch on Tuesdays and let us tell you more about Rotary and about the Rotary Club of San Bernardino. You are welcome to attend one of our meetings as my guest.  Presently, we are meeting online on Zoom at: