I am a member of one of the local Rotary International clubs. Rotary is one of the civic service clubs. It started in Chicago a hundred years ago. It has over 32,000 clubs and 1.2 million members. Its motto is “Service above self” which I can relate to as well as its “Four-way Test” that is a great foundation for business, family and life.

Rotary clubs continue to do a lot for youth and Scouting in particular. Most states have or have had a Camp Rotary in them.

The organization publishes a monthly magazine. Since not everyone is in Rotary I thought I’d share an article from a Rotarian about his son.

Showing up for Life

…When Trey was a Cub Scout, his troup earned the money they needed to support their activities by seling raw nuts for the holidays. Groups within the pack competed against each other to see who could raise the most money. So Trey spent countless hours going door to door soliciting orders for nuts.

On evenings and weekends, I went with him, driving to different neighborhoods and waiting in the car while he went from house to house.

It turns out that way back then Trey was recording his impresions on such things as what it’s like to go knocking on doors trying to sell a product, what factors influence buying decisions, and to what degree finding the right market for your product influences your overall success. …

Now as the late Paul Harvey would say, “And now for the rest of the story.”

This article was written by a Rotarian about his son. The dad’s name is Bill Gates, Sr. father of Bill Gates, Jr. Founder and former Chairmen of Microsoft Corporation.