Hello fellow Anchorage East Rotarians,
December is Rotary Family month. This is a good opportunity to become better informed on the vast range of activities that all go to make up the organization of Rotary International. But just as important as all the service projects and fellowship opportunities and informational events we create, is the continued growth of our family.
Our Rotary family might include people who have been involved with Rotary, such as Interact Club members, Rotaract Club members, high school scholarship recipients, teacher/student awardees and speakers who address our club. Let’s consider asking these people to become future Rotary Club members.
Anchorage East sponsors Interact Clubs at West High and East High, and there used to be a Rotaract Club in the Anchorage area. Last year our club gave 8 scholarships to seniors at Bartlett High and East. Periodically we recognize an outstanding teacher and student from Bartlett and East. Just about every week we have a speaker who usually is not a Rotarian. All of these people represent opportunities to expand our Rotary family. Also, like most clubs, we lose members, and one thing I’d like to see is follow up with these folks to see why they left. Perhaps there are things we can do to get them back or at least spread the word to others about the Rotary.
Our District 5010 has a website which directs interested people to a person who can in turn direct them to be in touch with one or more of the clubs in our area. Our club has a Facebook page which also spreads the word about what we do.
Our District Governor Diane Fejes addressed our club and urged us to think of ways for people, members and prospective members alike, to experience Rotary outside of the traditional “brick and mortar” setting such as our weekly Hilton Hotel sit down luncheon. I talked with a club member who perceives people become used to routines, and the routines of the millennial generation may be more inclined to focus on participation in different activities and less on participation in a weekly formal lunch setting. There may be many people out there who would be interested in Rotary on these terms. This will make our Rotary family “look“ different in some ways, but the fellowship and the good works won’t change, and our organization can stay a vibrant and powerful force to make the world a better place.