Submitted by Thomas Riley

Most Rotarians have heard one or the other of the two mottoes of Rotary. The first of these, “One Profits Most Who Serves the Best”, was the earliest motto and dates from 1910, when Art Sheldon of the Rotary Club of Chicago, Club No 1, said in a speech “He Profits Most who Serves his Fellows Best.” At the second Association of Rotary Club’s Convention in Portland, Oregon, in1910, the motto “He Profits Most Who Serves the Best” was adopted as the official motto of the organization.
At about the same time, the President of the Rotary Club of Minneapolis, Ben Collins, opined that Rotary should be organized around the principle expressed in his club’s motto, “Service, Not Self”.
For the next forty years, these two mottoes governed the actions of Rotarians throughout the world, and in 1950 Rotary adopted this second motto in the form “Service Above Self” to formally sit beside the first.
Rotary’s Council on Legislation in 1989 formally adopted “Service Above Self” as the Principal motto of Rotary International.
The secondary motto, “He Profits Most…” has since been modified to “One Profits Most…” as women have become more prominent in Rotary, and the phrase is still an important aphorism In Rotary circles.