I simply cannot believe it is August already! Where has the year gone?! August on the Rotary calendar is Membership Month. Membership, however, is something that we need to have on our agenda at all times - our very survival depends on it!
Today I attended District 9800's Membership and Marketing seminar. Each club needs a membership plan of attack that is in line with District's plan, but tailored to the quirks of the individual club. A double-sided flyer outlining District's plan was handed out at the seminar, and I will make it available on our website. It was a fantastic event with a large number of Rotarians from D9800 in attendance. Excellent speakers, productive breakout sessions and lots of fabulous membership-related ideas were shared. I just want to share with you here a few key things I took away from today's seminar that have definitely got me thinking...
One key thing that was said, and I feel is absolutely vital, is member engagement. If club members are not engaged then they are going to start "voting with their feet" - and the club will simply not survive. Traditionally, there has always been a focus in Rotary on attendance; going forward we need to be more concerned with and focused on the level of engagement not attendance.
Another key issue is to make clubs attractive to not only new and potential members, but also to existing members. A club that is modern, responsive, vibrant and dynamic will attract members and retain existing members. The result will be and attractive club with engaged members rather than a club that lends itself to the terrible Rotary stereotypes out there that we really need to address by getting rid of them!
Of course clubs need to plan and set goals, but essentially they need to just get out in to the community and do it! As the famous Anonymous said, "Success comes to the person who does today what others are planning on doing tomorrow."
Another quote I noted down during today's seminar is: "Unexpect the expected." We need to sell the Rotary message - there isn't another voluntary service organisation in the world like Rotary. The End Polio Now campaign is a perfect example of what Rotary is capable of achieving. In unexpecting the expected we need to go back to basics. We need to start a conversation, which will lead to engagement, which will lead to successful projects. Simply put, turn conversations into actions.
That was, in fact, the main message that came out of today's seminar: Join the new conversation of Rotary. After all, it is from little things that big things grow.
Yours in Rotary Service,
Rebecca
