3rd Convention

3rd Convention – Duluth, MN USA

August 6-9

with 598 in attendance Post Convention 1912

Chicago provided delegates from different generations!

Three and 81 years old!

Club Presidents in 1912

Platform and Objects

Telegram announces the formation of

Edinburgh – 1912

In 1912 the movement became the International Association of Rotary Clubs in Duluth, the Zenith City of the USA. The motion to change names was made by C E Fletcher of Winnipeg Rotary Club, Canada – the only ‘international’ club present. Telegrams from the British Isles were received at the Convention. Fletcher, incidentally, declined the offer of Vice-President for Canada and was replaced by W J Clubb.

Glenn C Mead was the new President of the Rotary movement. Mead was born in Erie County, Pennsylvania in 1870 and educated at Harvard, graduating in 1891. Mead became an instructor in classics at the Episcopal Academy, Philadelphia and studied law part-time. He gained admission to the bar in Philadelphia in 1900. Glenn Mead was an independent Republican and reformer and was elected Assistant City Solicitor in 1911.

In 1908 Mead began his own law practice and helped organize the Philadelphia Rotary Club in 1910, becoming its first President.

Harris told the Convention in his Report of the spread of Rotary but was concerned with the slow progress in the South. He also said, “If you, Brother Rotarian, think that you have a great mission to perform in Rotary, remember that great missions are serious undertakings.

Do not expect to perform great missions in a day. First, live with the principles of Rotary till they are as familiar to you as your own business, and associate with Rotarians until they constitute your warmest and closest friends. If your desire is results, mould your propaganda to conform to the recognised principles of Rotary before attempting to make it a part of Rotary.”

Rotarian Aldrich of St Louis Rotary Club moved that Mead’s predecessor Paul Harris be made President Emeritus.

The Duluth Convention was reported in The Rotarian’ of September 1912 (before the official proceedings reports) and shows the Objects of Rotary as adopted on August 9th 1912. We also see a telegram from Stuart Morrow telling the Convention that a new club has been formed – Edinburgh.

The Call to the convention

In 1912 at Duluth the IARC decided to organise the North American clubs into eight geographic regions. These were called ‘Divisions’ and included: Central, Southern, Western, Western Canada, Eastern, Division 5. However as the number of clubs increased, the IARC altered this in 1915 with new regions, all numbered.