““Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”” William Butler Yeats

““Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.””
William Butler Yeats

Dear Fellow Membership Chairmen,

We've all heard the old saying " fight fire with fire" so my challenge to you, as we begin this new 
Rotary year together, is to find that fire within you and spread its glow to all the members in 
your club.  We are all a part of the solution - each one of us has the ability to impact growth and 
change. Our ultimate responsibility as Rotarians is to understand that we are all responsible for 
membership growth in our clubs-we all hold the key to not only sustaining our clubs in the future, 
but to impacting positive growth for years to come.

Positive membership growth can be an exciting thing for your club. It can rejuvenate old members 
and fill new members with knowledge that they have made the right decision by selecting a vibrant 
and exciting club for their Rotary experience.  It can impact your budgets and your projects and 
overall enthusiasm for the vision of Rotary.

Our District had its first real growth numbers this year in overall membership so we are definitely 
on the right track, but in order to keep up this trend all of us need to make membership growth and 
retention a priority in our goals for the coming year.

You were selected as membership chairman because your club saw in you a "fire" and a passion for 
Rotary that would help focus the right resources and the right people to both recruit and retain as 
Rotarians. In this day and age membership no longer "just happens". It is the result of time and 
energy. It is the result of having a pre-determined plan and a commitment to making that plan an 
integral part of your Rotary club's goals and objectives.

The attached calendar can be your guide to an integrated membership plan for the coming year. It is 
not designed to give you all the answers, but it can aim you in the right direction.  Many clubs 
have used these techniques and ideas to successfully promote membership. But please feel free to 
take it and make it your own because only you know how to best use the strengths of your members 
and the uniqueness of your own club to achieve growth.

As the months go on you will be receiving additional communications and ideas about membership and 
I encourage you to share your success stories with all of us. Our District Rotary family is large 
and diverse, but we are all united in making this the best District in the country so we can all 
celebrate together.

Best regards,
Kathie Williams,
District 5520 Membership Chairman 2014-2015