Last week was another example of just how busy this club is. An All Presidents Meeting, Club Meeting, Foundation Meeting, Foundation Seminar, Committee Meetings, and a Board Meeting. And some complain about this news letter being to long; Heresy? To this point, the Program Committee is looking at incorporating a Club Meeting once a month dedicated to new and on-going Club business. The demographics of this Club suggest that technology is not our friend and that only half of the membership goes on line. Couple this with our weekly attendance no longer being mandatory and you can see where communication might be challenging. I think it is important to acknowledge all the work that this club does and to promote service above self and so, I look forward to your input around the concept of a Club Business Meetings once a month.
I thought I would put this week into perspective by sharing a conversation I had with Pete Erickson a Past District Governor from Moses Lake in Washington State. Pete is currently putting on seminars in the district to inform and educate Rotarians about the merits of The Rotary Foundation. His seminar was of particular interest to me, as promoting the TRF is one of my goals in 2019-2020. Pete and I had a chance to go out for dinner after his presentation where I listened to an historical perspective from someone who has been in Rotary for 50 years. Pete talked for the most part in broad themes around TRF’s slogan of “doing good in the world” but he also pivoted to how this impacts us at the Club level. Kathy Butler’s presentation on her “Maternal Health” Global Grant in Africa last Tuesday was a perfect example of the impact TRF has in the world and on our members. Add to this our successful District Grant put forward by Harold Heming for Hippo Rollers and you can appreciate how important TRF is to this club. For those of us looking for a WHY to be a Rotarian look no further than these initiatives. Pete reiterated that our best chance to reduce the attrition in our membership is to engage our members in worthwhile projects.
Eliminating attrition happens to be my second goal. Pete and I talked about the assembly on April 02, and how it reflected the desire of the membership to have fun and stay connected. Thank-you all again for your participation. Rotary has been having a debate for several years around attracting new members. Increase (by engaging more prospects) vs Attrition (disengagement of new members) a debate where the premise does not corroborate the desired result. The club assembly on April 02 suggests we should have a different debate. Open vs Closed.
I hope to meet with the various committee members this week to discuss their responses to the questions at the assembly and have a club discussion the following Tuesday.
See you all this Tuesday. The place to be in Kelowna at noon.