Paul Harris was an attorney in Chicago, IL when in 1905 he founded the world's first service club, the Rotary Club of Chicago. The name "Rotary" derived from the early practice of rotating meetings among members' offices. Over the years, providing humanitarian service, encouraging high ethical standards in all vocations, and working to build good will and peace in the world became the hallmark of Rotary. More information about Rotary and its history is available at the Rotary International website.

Below you will find the names of those members of the Meridian Rotary Club who have met the qualifications to be recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow, Paul Harris Sustaining Member, and/or Benefactor.

To honor our founder and his ideals, Rotary developed a recognition program for individuals who donate $1,000 or more to Rotary International. When this occurs, this person is recognized by Rotary as a "Paul Harris Fellow."This amount is typically donated by the person him/herself, but can be contributed in the person's name by others as a means of recognizing an individual.

Rotarians who commit to donating at least $100 on an annual basis until they reach the $1,000 level are recognized as "Paul Harris Sustaining Members." Even after they qualify for Paul Harris Fellow status, they also continue to be Paul Harris Sustaining Members as long as they continue to donate on an annual basis to Rotary International. This ongoing support approach is known as the "Every Rotarian Every Year" campaign

Benefactors are those individuals who make The Rotary Foundation's Permanent Fund a beneficiary in their estate plans, or by donating $1,000 or more to the fund outright.

What happens to the dollars contributed to Rotary International? These funds are used to support Rotary's philanthropic efforts around the globe: the worldwide eradication of polio, and efforts to address such humanitarian issues as illiteracy, world hunger, children at risk, and environmental degradation. More info is available at the Rotary Foundation website.