Rotary International is the world's first service club organization, begun in 1905 in Chicago by Paul Harris. The Nantucket club was formed on October 14, 1950.

Rotary is a worldwide organization of more than 1.2 million business, professional, and community leaders. Members of Rotary clubs, known as Rotarians, provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world.

The overall object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy experience and, in particular, to encourage and foster: 

1. The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for services;

2. High ethical standards in business and professions, the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations, and the dignifying of each Rotarian’s occupation as an opportunity to serve society;

3. The application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian’s personal, business and community life;

4. The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.