This year our membership focus is on the new flexibility offered to us by last year's Council On Legislation. Simply put - Rotary Clubs now have increased flexibility with respect to membership types, and meeting times, types, and structures.
There are lots of examples of clubs that have embraced the new flexibility with success - read the article about the Hanover club's history and how changing to meeting twice monthly and changing the meeting structure has worked for them.
And there's many more examples.
In Texas, a number of existing Rotarians got together to create something that worked for them - because “Thursday at lunch wasn’t working for us.” They created a new club - In August 2015, they chartered with 62 members and have grown every month since then. What's their secret? Maybe it's their blend of Rotary tradition and Cross Timbers innovation. Read the full story on the Rotary International website here.
In this month's (August) issue of the "Rotarian" magazine a new member of Rotary attends 7 area club meetings in one week - and writes about how different and creative these meetings are. Some of the highlights are:
- So why are members joining today? "Having a sense of purpose" is the most popular reason, followed by making a difference, friendship, and networking.
- The club usually meets at a Chinese restaurant. "But once a month we get together here after work to give people who can’t make a noon meeting a chance to join us,"
- About half are Rotarians of long standing; the other half are younger, more recent members. "We’re the new blood," one says.
If you're intrigued to learn more about the 7 clubs he visited - read the full article here.
What have you learned from these examples? I hope that you have become interested enough to generate some discussion in your own club about what you can do to attract more energetic, engaged, members to your club.
Martin Ward, District Governor, Rotary International District 6330