Chairman

THE CLASSIFICATIONS COMMITTEE

(Subcommittee of the Club Service Committee)

The classifications committee is com-
posed of a chairman (a member of the
club service committee) and such other
members as the needs of the local club
may require. In a small club it may
consist of but one member whereas in a
large club it may have several members.

The work of the classifications com-
mittee is closely related to that of the
membership committee and the two
committees may well cooperate. Their
functions, however, are distinct. Briefly,
the classifications committee is con-
cerned only with seeing that the classi-
fication principle in Rotary is correctly
interpreted and applied. It is interested
in the character of service offered the
community by the prospect’s firm;
whereas the membership committee
concerns itself exclusively with the per-
sonal qualifications of the individual,
his position in his firm, and his stand-
ing in the community.

The classifications committee should
have a copy of the Outline of Classifi-
cations, published by R.I., as a basic
guide for its work. (A copy of the
Outline was furnished to each Rotary
club when it was formed. Additional
copies are obtainable at the secretariat
at $1.00 per copy.)

The work of the classifications com-
mittee may be divided into three sec-
tions, as follows:

1. The preparation and maintenance
of a classification survey of the
community. (See specimen form
on other side of page.) The
classification survey enables the
committee to tell at a glance what
classifications need to be filled in
order to make the club a true
cross section of the business and

F-1

professional life of the commu-
nity.

Complete instructions on how to
establish and use a classification
survey will be found on pages

8-10 of the Outline.

Urging upon the members the
importance of proposing names
for the unfilled classifications.
The committee is not charged
with the responsibility of obtain-
ing new members, but should
serve as the force which will
stimulate an interest on the part
of the membership as a whole.

Passing on the eligibility of pro-
posed members—from the stand-
point of classification only—and
determining the proper classifica-
tion term to be assigned to the
new member.

When a new member has been
proposed the board of directors
refers the proposal to the classi-
fications committee. The commit-
tee should carefully investigate
the business or profession of the
applicant in order

a. to determine whether the
member, if admitted, would
represent in the club a busi-
ness or professional service
that is distinct from any repre-
sented by any of the present
members;

b. to select the open classification
which will best describe the
business or professional service
which the proposed member’s
firm, organization or institu-
tion performs within the com-
munity.