Classification System
Membership in a Rotary club is by invitation and was
based on the founders' paradigm of choosing one representative of each
business, profession and institution in the community. What is called the
"classification principle" is used to ensure that the members of a
club comprise a cross section of their community's business and professional
life.
A Rotarian's classification describes either the
principal business or professional service of the organization that he or she
works for or the individual Rotarian's own activity within the organization.
The classification is determined by activities or services to society rather
than by the position held by the particular individual. In other words, if a
person is president of a bank, he or she is not classified as "bank
president" but under the classification "banking."..The classification
principle fosters a fellowship for service based on diversity of interest, and
seeks to prevent the predominance in the club of any one group.
When a person becomes an active member of a Rotary
clubs, it is said that a the member has been "loaned" a
classification. He or she may propose one additional active member in that
classification. On completing five, ten or fifteen years of service, depending
on the individual's age, he or she becomes a "senior active" member
and their classification is released to enable another person to join the club
