President-elect sees Rotary’s Action Plan as key to a vibrant future

Leaders from Rotary’s 518 districts worldwide gathered in Orlando, Florida, USA, on 7-11 January for the 2024 International Assembly, which helps prepare and inspire the governors-elect for the year ahead. The annual training is focused on how to increase Rotary’s impact and relevance, and it provides innovative ways to keep membership strong, vibrant, and growing. Rotary magazine recently spoke with Urchick about her vision for the 2024-25 Rotary year.

2024/2025 Rotary President Stephani Urchick

Interview by Diana Schoberg

It’s late October at One Rotary Center, one of those autumn days that feels like summer, a last blast of warmth before the Chicago-area weather abruptly shifts. In less than a week, on Halloween, nearly an inch of snow will fall.

Luckily, Rotary President-elect Stephanie Urchick isn’t one to wither in the face of change. Instead, she embraces it. On the bookshelf in her office at Rotary headquarters, among the club directories and banners, the commemorative plates and plaques, and — surprise! — even some real books, there is a wooden sign adorned with multicolored leaves that reads, “Fall is proof that change is beautiful.”

“It’s the same reason I like butterflies,” explains Urchick. “They start out in little cocoons and don’t look like much, but then they burst out and become a beautiful creature.”

Urchick, who wears an Action Plan pin this day on her black quilted jacket, champions the Rotary plan as a guide for Rotary clubs hoping to undergo a similar metamorphosis. “I’m all about helping clubs look for ways to change their culture so they become simply irresistible,” she says. “If you look at our worldwide numbers, there’s something like 150,000 people who come into Rotary every year, but there are 160,000 who leave. What that says to me is that some people are not finding value in their club experience. They’re not really leaving Rotary; they’re leaving a Rotary club. We need to get clubs to examine what’s happening.”

A member of the Rotary Club of McMurray, Pennsylvania, Urchick joined Rotary in 1991 and was quickly drawn to the work of The Rotary Foundation. As a new member, she heard about Rotary’s work to eradicate polio and became intrigued. She became the Foundation chair for her club and then for her district. Later, at the zone level, she served as a regional Rotary Foundation coordinator, focusing on fund development, and in 2012-14, she was a Rotary Foundation trustee at the international level. “There are so many great things that Rotary clubs do, and much of it is because they have worked through the Foundation,” she says. Read more by clicking here.