District Governor shares mid-term observations

I am now officially half done with my term as your District Governor. It has been a true privilege to serve the Rotarians of our district, all wonderful people. Here are a few observations about what I have learned in the process:

1. EVERY CLUB IS DIFFERENT. As an accountant, I like to categorize things into neat boxes. When I became District Governor, I thought it would be easy to add value to our Rotarians by coaching a few changes in the clubs. However, clubs are complex organisms. There are no universal solutions to increasing member value. The only common tool for all clubs to use is experimentation.

2. COMMUNICATION WITH ROTARY CLUBS CANNOT BE MANAGED LIKE WITH BUSINESSES. I expected that a few targeted communications early in the Rotary year – via Assistant Governors and Club Presidents -- would promote the innovation and experimentation clubs could use to increase member value. The reality is: Rotarians are all volunteers. Rotary communications have a hard time trickling down to the members who could champion these causes.

3. MY SINGLE FOCUS OF INCREASING MEMBER VALUE DID HIT A NERVE. Without exception, my presentations at clubs produced positive feedback. My message was to increase member value, and that members receive value from Rotary in many different ways. A long-time Rotarian listened and acknowledged that perhaps “networking” isn’t a dirty word; it may even be a reasonable rationale for joining Rotary. While Service Above Self will always be our motto, a focus on Rotarians’ self-interests may be needed if we want Rotary to survive in the United States over the long term. We need champions in each club to carry the member-value torch.

4. WE ARE INNOVATING. We have developed several new initiatives in our district. The Eco Club and the Veterans Club are pace cars for a growing focus on non-traditional “theme” clubs in the United States. We have new mentoring and networking groups popping up across the district. We continue to be innovative in our service project collaborations. There are many examples of fellowship opportunities outside the club meeting time -- even several across clubs (think Brewtarians). However, every successful initiative has required countless hours by an individual Rotarian to make it work. Nothing happens in Rotary without passionate champions who will not let a few speedbumps get in the way. Over the next six months I will continue my singular focus on creating member value. Please invite me to your club for a brief brainstorming session if you want a “booster shot” to help your club focus on what it can do to retain and grow your membership.

Happy New Year! Retention Russ