Our Club has become very active over the last few months as we creep out of the COVID thing and push on with rebuilding the Club. Just as people went crazy with renovations and gardening to keep busy during lockdowns, many people have recentred their compass towards helping others and the planet post lockdowns. Travel and living the high life are not quite on the cards yet, although some people are having a crack at it. Volunteering is the new frontier and now is our best chance to provide help to our community by recruiting quality people into our Club. We don't want numbers, we only want doers with the potential for a higher purpose.
I have been hitting my head against the wall over the last two years trying to work out some way to get our inactive members back into active members again. I have given up on them now and am resigned to the fact that I have wasted my time and my energy. With only weeks left to fulfil my plan to return the club into a powerhouse of community service, I must admit defeat at returning them to active Rotarians. There really weren't that many, but it is hard to attract new vibrant members to our club when there are fence-sitters not doing much. So that said, I have moved on. It has taken me a while but I don't have to spare them a thought anymore.
Now, the Board and I are focusing on transitioning to a new Rotary year and a new President. We have a lot of pokers in the fire which will need attending to if we want to reap the rewards of sticking them into the fire in the first place. We are in a place of knowing what we need to do instead of making up pointless activities to keep ourselves busy. I am hardly sitting around waiting for my year as President to end. Rather I am frantically trying to bring all the bits together so we can build a new layer on a new foundation. I am not intending to end my Presidency by sitting on my backside doing nothing, there are still a lot of things I can do as an ordinary Rotarian.
That new layer can only be made by looking out for each other as the Director's portfolios bloat (ie two directorships become one, Project and fundraising, Membership and Public Image) in the new Rotary year. Our Board Directors will need every able member to step forward to help them complete their roles. I am a President that believes members will voluntarily step into roles they feel they can deliver the best impact with the time they have available. I also believe that some members will extend themselves by education in Rotary by taking advantage of any opportunity to learn something. I have seen that in all our recently inducted members. Those members have the greatest potential as leaders in our Club and I am seeing a very vibrant future that I want to stick around and be part of.
Now just in case you are thinking that I am expecting people are going to throw away their lives just to do Rotary, think again. Any good organisation allows for cross over. That means several people can do the same job if someone is away and there is always a seamless transition. Dave Anderson did it with the Presentation Balls, it can be done! Graham, Sam, and I have been doing it with the bulletin. David N, Gus and Andrew have been doing it with the program, Andrew and I have been doing it with the website, and the list goes on. It is just like skipping, learning the rhythm and just jumping in.
If you feel you have potential talent or interest in a particular area but don't have the skills yet, that is not a problem. Hit me up and we can make it happen. No one knows everything. Everyone needs to learn something. Not that long ago I had no idea that Rotary even existed and now I know I could have made a difference sooner.
