ROTARY EMBLEM

In the beginning years of Rotary for many years, there was no standard emblem. Rotary clubs designed their own.
The Rotary Club of Chicago first used a Wagon Wheel, an idea attributed to Paul Harris. The appearance changed from time to time.
Montague M. Bear an engineer joined the Club and offered to design a permanent emblem. His first idea - a plain buggy wheel was rejected. Monty added clouds of dust ahead of and behind the wheels. He also added the words "Rotary Clubs" above it. But then offending clouds were removed.
In 1911 convention Chess Perry suggested that a standard emblem based around wheel should be adopted by all Rotary clubs. At 1912 convention Board of Directors appointed an executive committee to do just that. The chairman was George W. Clark.
This committee acted very fast and simply copied the emblem of the Rotary club of Philadelphia - which was chartered on 30 November 1910.
Philadelphia Club president Glenn Mead, had asked Weston Boyd the printer, George Fry the engraver and Jack Berlet the Jeweler to design an emblem. They added cogs to the wheel symbolic of members working together, they added a banner "Trade follows the Flag" and gave finishing touch by an eagle.
Glenn Mead approved their design and asked Berlet, the Jeweler to prepare a metal lapel pin that Rotarians could wear on their coats.Thus the millions of Rotary pins men and women around the world have worn on their jackets ever since their genesis in the mind of a club president and a jeweler in Philadelphia.
The 1912 committee which accepted the R. C. Philadelphia's Emblem had modified it by removing the eagle and the "Trade Follows The Flag" streamer. Club name was replaced by the association's name. They used the same design for the lapel pin. Board accepted the committee's design.
Yet the districts and clubs designed wheel with 8 spokes,10 spokes or none at all. Some had 16 gear cogs, while some had 27 cogs ! Oscar Bjorge, a distinguished engineer and a member of Rotary club of Duluth objected the design in 1918.There was lobbying in Rotary International for six years to correct the emblem.
From his hospital bed, where he was recovering from an appendectomy Bjorge sketched out a new wheel with six spokes and 24 teeth. Finally he added a keyway in the centre. In 1928, Bjorge's exact specifications were written into the Manual of Procedure and approved by the 1929 Dallas convention. Rotary's emblem has remained unchanged ever since.
Emblem Specifications : "The official emblem of RI is a gear wheel of six spokes or arms, 24 teeth or cogs and a key way; one tooth is placed on the centre line of each arm. The wheel is designed in accordance with the proportions given in the table below. The two words "Rotary" and "International" appear in depressed spaces in the rim. With the wheel standing on edge, the word "Rotary" appears in the depression at the top which occupies a space of about five teeth, and the word "International" appears in the depression at the bottom which occupies the space of about nine and one-half (91/2) teeth. The proportions of the correct design are:
Overall diameter .......................................................................................................................61 Units
Centre to base or root of teeth .................................................................................................26 Units
Width of rim (inside edge to base of teeth) ..............................................................................81/2Units
Hub diameter ...........................................................................................................................12 Units
Shaft diameter ......................................................................................................................... 7 Units
Arms or spokes
Width where they join the rim (sides projected) .............................................................. 5 Units
Width at centre of shaft (sides projected) ....................................................................... 7 Units
Vertical section of keyway
width ................................................................................................................................13/4 Units
depth ................................................................................................................................7/8 Units
Teeth or cogs
Width at base ................................................................................................................. 41/4 Units
Width at tip ..................................................................................................................... 21/4 Units
Height ............................................................................................................................. 41/2 Units
Lettering
Width of depressed space .............................................................................................. 51/2 Units
Height of letters .............................................................................................................. 4 Units
Color specifications : The entire wheel should be of gold, with the four depressed spaces in the rim of royal blue. The words "Rotary" and "International" in the depression should be of gold. The shaft opening and key way should be left blank.
Use and misuse of emblem: The bylaws of RI specifically provide for the RI Board to oversee the use of the emblem. The name and emblem of Rotary International are registered in many countries.
The emblem is allowed on:
All stationary and printed matter issued by RI or member clubs.
The official Rotary flag.
Badges, banners, decorations and printed matter of Rotary conventions and all other official Rotary functions and furniture and fittings of RI or member clubs.
Road signs of member clubs.
Lapel buttons to be worn by Rotarians and family members.
Articles for personal use or greetings from Rotarians and their families.
Errors in printing the emblem: The emblem and other marks of RI should not be altered, modified or obstructed in anyway or reproduced other than in its complete form.When printed in more than one colour,the Rotary Emblem may be printed only in the official Rotary colours.
The geared Rotary wheel had its silent and varied early manifestations. The Rotary Wheel ultimately exceeded the aims of its designers. It symbolizes action and a million members working together to make the world a better place. It also allows fellow Rotarian to identify each other and silently inform the general public "I am a Rotarian."