Greetings, I would like to thank all of you for giving me the opportunity to serve our Rotary District 7950 for the coming year as your District Governor. It is truly an honor and privilege.
This year, incoming RI President Mark Maloney from Decatur, Alabama has chosen as his theme “Rotary Connects the World”. Mark believes that “Connection” is at the heart of the Rotary experience:
- Rotary allows us to connect with each other, in deep and meaningful ways, across all of our differences.
- It connects us to people we would never otherwise have met, who are more like us than we ever could have known.
- It connects us to our communities, to professional opportunities and to the people who need our help, both in our local communities and in places around the world.
- Through Rotary, we connect to the incredible diversity of humanity on a truly unique footing, forging deep and lasting ties and friendships in the pursuit of a common goal, Service to Others.
This year, we as Rotarians must concentrate on a number of issues, but our number one goal that needs all of our attention is membership in our clubs. We need to focus on bringing into our clubs like-minded women and men who share our ideals, our values and our desire to make our world a better place.
Over the past ten years, our International membership has remained stagnant at 1.2 million members. Each year we bring in 100,000 new members only to lose 100,000 others.
In North America and in our own District we have not fared as well. For the past 25 years the number of members we are bringing into our local clubs has not kept pace with the number of members that we are losing. Our numbers keep going down every year. This trend looks like it will continue into the foreseeable future unless we do something major about it now. Age statistics tell the story: almost 80% of our members are over 60 and 65% of those are over 70.
We ALL must act now! It’s not just up to me, It’s not just up to your club president, it’s not up to your officers or your membership chairperson. It is up to all of us and it is our responsibility to grow Rotary.
What can your club do to help reverse this trend? First, make sure you’re using these tried and true strategies:
- Make sure that your club has a designated membership chairperson, a person that is truly interested and dedicated in growing your club. Are you that person?
- Have a DIVERSE membership committee appointed in each club. Diversity means, Classification, Race, Gender, Age. Anything and Anyone that brings something different to the table. Are you a part of your membership committee?
- Have the Club set an achievable membership goal in Rotary Club Central. Discuss this goal as a club. Develop a membership plan and a strategy to achieve this goal. Do you know what your club goals are? Has your club developed a plan and a strategy to achieve your goal?
- Constantly monitor your membership and review your progress to your goal. Make the necessary changes to your plan and strategy to achieve your goal. Does your club have quarterly Club Assemblies? Do you attend or participate in them? Are you discussing membership?
- MAKE membership EVERY member’s priority. Is membership your priority? If not why not?
I have set a goal for all of us to turn this declining membership around in District 7950 this year.
My goal is for every club to increase their membership number by two this year.
That only means that your membership number on June 30, 2020 needs to be two higher than what it was on July 1, 2019. (If you don’t know what your number was on July 1, 2019 you can find it in Rotary Club Central.)
Growing our clubs as they exist today will not be enough to get District 7950 back on a sustainable growth path. In my next newsletter we’ll look at some of President Mark’s long-term ideas to attract the kinds of people who don’t consider becoming Rotarians today.
There are some great opportunities out there; we just have to take them.
Steve
Membership Videos
Getting new members is important, but keeping them after they joined is critical. The Zone 32 membership committee has been making short animated videos on various aspects of membership and sharing them with us to help us understand the membership issues we are facing and ways to help us combat the problem.
This month’s video is about maximizing your chances of keeping your current and future membership.
These videos are only about 3 minutes long and can be utilized at your club meetings to help make members aware of the membership issue and to help your club grow.
District Calendar 2019
July – Beginning of a New Rotary Year
July 18 – DG Steve Albright’s Club visitations begin
July 31 – Deadline for RI and District Dues Payments
August – Membership and New Club Development
Month
August 15 – District Grant Application Deadline
August 29 – District 7950 at Pawsox Ball Game
September – Basic Education and Literacy Month
September 1 – DG Nominee Designate nomination
Papers sent to Clubs
September TBD – Ride for Polio
September 17-22 – Zone Institute
Niagara Falls, Canada
October – Economic and Community Development
Month
October 26 – Vibrant Club Training (Open to all)
Whites of Westport
November – Rotary Foundation Month
November 7 – Budget & Finance Committee (AM)
November 7 – District Governor Nominee Designee Interviews (PM)
November 14 – Foundation Dinner
November TBD – Providence Bruins Game
For Polio Plus
December – Disease Prevention and Treatment Month
December 8 – District Governor’s Council Lunch