October is Vocational Service Month

Vocational Service is one of Rotary’s Avenues of Service. Vocational Service calls every Rotarian to: aspire to high ethical standards in their occupation; recognize the worthiness of all useful occupations; contribute their vocational talents to the problems and needs of society; and eliminate all grey areas in business and strive for transparency. When professionals join a Rotary club, they do so as a representative of their classification – their particular business or profession. It was the vision of Paul Harris to have individuals of different businesses and professions get together in camaraderie to know each other better and try to collectively make the community better. Thus, Rotarians have the dual responsibility of representing their vocation within the club and exemplifying the ideals of Rotary within the workplace. Rotary clubs should be a real microcosm of the locale.

Every October, Rotarians are encouraged to focus their attention on Vocational Service. Vocational Service Month is an opportunity to begin year-long vocational service activities, ranging from Rotary discussions to awards to community projects. It is also a great opportunity for classification talks or thumbnails. Our Rotary Ambassadors serve this opportunity well in their participation of many local projects. Paul Harris saw that this could go beyond the community and make a difference in the world. A great example of this is SAMP, Flour Power and the Peruvian Mobile Medical project.

One of the central goals of Vocational Service is to promote and advance Rotary’s high ethical standards. Two useful tools Rotarians have to assess these standards are The Four-Way Test (Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?) and The Declaration of Rotarians in Business and Professions:
1. Consider my vocation to be another opportunity to serve;
2. Be faithful to the letter and to the spirit of the ethical codes of my vocation, to the laws of my country, and to the moral standards of my community;
3. Do all in my power to dignify my vocation and to promote the highest ethical standards in my chosen vocation;
4. Be fair to my employer, employees, associates, competitors, customers, the public, and all those with whom I have business or professional relationship;
5. Recognize the honor and respect to all occupations which are useful to society;
6. Offer my vocational talents: to provide opportunities for young people, to work for the relief of the special needs of others, and to improve the quality of life in my community;
7. Adhere to honesty in my advertising and in all representations to the public concerning my business or profession;
8. Neither seek from nor grant to a follow Rotarian