Rotary Membership

by Lorrine Parks

  Kevin MacDonald introduced a lively program on How To Increase Our Club Membership.    First he showed a film showing how Rotary had made a difference in one person’s life.

    Then President Ray spoke to us, and said his goal is to increase membership by ten this year.  Past President Raul Lopez echoed these sentiments, and said that when he joined in 1983, the club membership was 116, which is twice what it is now.  It stands now at 58.  This reporter remembers the same full complement when she joined in 1988.  In the last twenty-five years much has happened, and only six or eight of the members here in 1983 are still members today.

   Death, moving away, retirement, dropping out because of the economy, are some of the causes for the attrition.  But to get members back now, in 2012, we need to show how relevant Rotary is to its community, and also what fun it is to be a Rotarian in Downey.  We need to show the public our hands-on projects with kids, older people, in Downey and in rebuilding projects here and around the world.

  Bringing the action to a personal level, putting each Rotarian on the Membership Committee, each table then brainstormed the question, led by discussion facilitators, pre-designated by Kevin.  Our table came up with names for each of us to pursue.