In the golden era of Rotary, the benchmark for dedicated participation was set at a minimum attendance of 60% in all Rotary meetings throughout the Rotary year. Members could achieve this by attending meetings at their home Club or by making up attendance at any other Rotary Club worldwide. The option of Leave of Absence was also a flexible provision, allowing members to temporarily suspend their attendance commitment for reasons such as work, family, travel, or health.
Fast forward to today, and the landscape of Rotary engagement has evolved. Attendance requirements now embrace a broader spectrum of service avenues, extending beyond traditional Club meetings. Our current constitution maintains the significance of attendance as a membership requirement, but the definition of participation has expanded to encompass diverse activities. Each of these activities is meticulously crafted to enhance Rotary's impact while harmonizing with the diverse motivations that lead individuals to join Rotary.
Ultimately, the essence of a thriving Rotary Club lies in active member involvement. By contributing meaningfully to the Club's effectiveness and its transformative role in the community, each member plays a vital part in ensuring the Club's viability and its potential for future growth. It's a shared commitment to making a difference that propels our Rotary Club forward, creating a vibrant and impactful community of change-makers.
Section 1 – General Provisions. Each member should attend this club's regular meetings or its satellite club’s regular meetings and engage in this club’s service projects, events and other activities. A member shall be counted as attending a regular meeting if the member:
(a) is present in person, by telephone, or online for at least 60 percent of the meeting
(b) is present but called away unexpectedly and later presents to the board satisfactory evidence that leaving was reasonable,
(c) participates in the regular online meeting or interactive activity posted on the club’s website within one week after its posting; or
(d) makes up the absence in any of the following ways within the same year:
(1) attends at least 60 percent of the regular meeting of another club, a provisional club or a satellite of another club;
(2) is present at the time and place of a regular meeting or satellite club meeting of another club for the purpose of attending, but that club is not meeting at that time or place;
(3) attends and participates in a club service project or a club sponsored community event or meeting authorised by the board;
(4) attends a board meeting or, if authorised by the board, a meeting of a service committee to which the member is assigned;
(5) participates through a club website in an online meeting or interactive activity;
(6) attends a regular meeting of a Rotaract or Interact club, Rotary Community Corps, or Rotary Fellowship or of a provisional Rotaract or Interact club, Rotary Community Corps; or Rotary Fellowship, or
(7) attends an RI convention, a council on legislation, an international assembly, a Rotary institute any meeting convened with the approval of the RI board of directors or the RI president, a multizone conference, a meeting of an RI committee, a district conference, a district training assembly, any district meeting held at the direction of the RI board, any district committee meeting held by direction of the governor, or a regularly announced intercity meeting of clubs.
Section 2 – Extended Absence While Working at a Distance. If a member works on a distant assignment for an extended period of time, attendance at the meetings of a designated club at the site of the assignment replaces attendance at the regular meetings of the member’s club, if the two clubs agree.
Section 3 – Absence Because of Other Rotary Activities. An absence does not require a make-up if, at the time of the meeting, the member is:
(a) travelling with reasonable directness to or from one of the meetings specified in sub-subsection (1)(d)(7);
(b) serving as an officer or member of an RI committee or as a TRF trustee;
(c) serving as the special representative of the governor in forming a new club;
(d) on Rotary business in the employ of RI;
(e) directly and actively engaged in a district-sponsored, RI-sponsored, or TRF sponsored service project in a remote area, where making up attendance is impossible; or
(f) engaged in Rotary business duly authorised by the board, which precludes attendance at the meeting.
Section 4 – RI Officers’ Absences. An absence shall be excused if the member is a current RI officer or a Rotarian partner of a current RI officer.
Section 5 – Excused Absences. A member's absence shall be excused if:
(a) The board approves it for reasons, conditions and circumstances it considers good and sufficient. Such excused absences shall not last longer than 12 months. However, if a leave is taken for medical reasons, follows the birth or adoption of a child, or takes place during foster care of a child, the board may extend it beyond the original 12 months.
(b) The sum of the member's age and years of membership in one or more clubs is 85 years or more, the member has been a Rotarian for at least 20 years, the member has notified the club secretary in writing of a desire to be excused from attendance, and only these requirements are taken into consideration.
Section 6 – Attendance Records. When a member whose absences are excused under subsection 5(a) of this article does not attend a club meeting, the member and the absence shall not be included in the attendance records. If a member whose absences are excused under section 4 or subsection 5(b) of this article attends a club meeting, the member and the attendance shall be included in this club’s membership and attendance figures.
