Presentation and discussion on “Be a Vibrant Club”

Our next two Presidents will be sharing their thoughts on being a "Vibrant Club". President Elect, Marty Behr and President Nominee Paul O'Rear will build on the thoughts put forth earlier in the month. CLICK HERE to get some advance reading.

Our speaker for October 11 was David McDonald, President of the Santa Rosa West Club.  This is Dave’s second tour of duty as President and he’s been very active for years in District assignments, including four or five years as District Membership Chair.  Dave was asked to speak with us about Membership.

Rotary’s current goal is to have clubs focus on becoming vibrant, with exciting, informative meetings and active projects.  Dave urged us to consider why we are Rotarians; why we started and why we stay. We have to get our stories out to our friends and acquaintances, so they too can understand why we love being Rotarians so much.

Dave mentioned that when he became president of his club again, after focusing so many years on District membership, he was disappointed in his club’s growth.  His club, like most clubs, had not kept the ‘membership culture’ alive.  Membership needs constant care.  Dave believes that every club needs a membership chairperson; someone who can devote the time to focus on new members and nurture new and old members alive. 

Programs are important.  Members no longer focus as much on 100% attendance and they often decide whether to come to a meeting based on who the speaker is going to be.  Retaining members is just as important as bringing in new members.  Every club needs to develop important service and social projects so that members feel they are part of something fantastic. 

Developing new members also requires commitment.  Prospective members often love projects, so invite some friends or others to attend and participate in a project near and dear to your Club.  Dave noted that in the past week a club had put on a “building hands” project that was very well attended. That would have been a fantastic event for prospective members.  Inviting people to such an event can be a great way to get them interested in joining.  Every club should have a membership goal and work had to achieve it. 

Clubs also need to look carefully at their by-laws and other Club processes to make sure they are up-to-date with the club’s actual practices and goals.  Dave also strongly believes that a club’s procedures should be set out in a document so that everyone knows what to expect at a meeting, at a debunking, or at any club function.

Penny noted that she would like to see us start up a “Company” membership category.  Companies could designate an employee to attend the meetings, and maybe multiple employees could get interested.  It would also be a great way to get companies involved in projects; the employee who attends the meeting could get his company involved in a joint club-company project.

Thank you, Dave for your thoughts on how to become a vibrant club.  We are working on it and hope to see results as we work together to open up our club culture to a greater focus on these membership issues.

On a regular basis, our resident photo pro Warren Smith  submit pictures of what is going on at the weekly meetings. You can always find the most recent pictures at the websites photo journal called "Meeting Sighting" Please note that all the meeting photos for the entire Rotary year are at this location with the most recent on the last page.

Thanks for all the great pictures Warren! Link to Meeting Sightings. The most recent are on the last page!

Rotary Club of Langhorne, Pennsylvania

Chartered: 1961

Original membership: 22

Current membership: 40

Club innovation: When members blamed falling attendance on work responsibilities, the club rose to the challenge, deciding to let members designate a business associate or family member to attend meetings and participate in projects in their stead – or alongside them. Dubbed “clones,” the stand-ins endure gentle jibes and occasional bleating sounds in imitation of Dolly the sheep. The clones, who share the Rotarian DNA of generosity, go along with the fun.

Sense of community: Since 2011, the Rotary Club of Langhorne has highlighted what’s happening in its community in a big way: The club raised $55,000 to install a 6-by-12-foot electronic reader sign at a busy intersection, a can’t-miss display that updates residents on public safety announcements, news, and events. Those events include the club’s Pet Fair and Family Day, which drew 3,000 attendees this year, and a community spaghetti dinner on Martin Luther King Jr. Day which raises money for End Polio Now. The club also devotes energy and funds to local public schools; one initiative, in cooperation with a community nonprofit called the Peace Center, brings anti-bullying programs to middle school students.

The Pet Fair and Family Day brings together the whole community.

After deciding to move to the East Coast to be closer to his daughter’s young family, Bill Kaufmann found Langhorne, a community about 25 miles northeast of Philadelphia. A longtime Rotarian who had been membership chair of two clubs in Tacoma, Washington, Kaufmann settled into his natural role fostering membership when he joined Langhorne’s Rotarians. But the e-commerce consultant discovered that his branding skills would be put to the test here.

The club meets for lunch at a restaurant in a historic mansion, but at times attendance was at risk of falling below the minimum 20 meals required by the venue. “We were losing members because they couldn’t make meetings,” Kaufmann says.

Board discussions yielded ideas but no firm solutions. Then one member started sending his office manager to meetings in his place. “That was my ‘aha’ moment,” says Kaufmann, now club president. The club decided to recognize the stand-ins, who must have a family or business relationship with the primary member and pay $25 in annual dues to the club to cover the cost of name tags and mailings. The program was implemented at minimal cost and with little formality.

Kaufmann calls the concept “a hybrid of corporate and family memberships” and says much of the novelty is in the “clone” nomenclature.

“We approached it tongue-in-cheek, and it really took off,” says Joe Santy, who was president in 2017-18. “It gives the person the opportunity to see what Rotary does. Somebody sending us a clone also feels they’re maximizing their membership. And if a clone decides to go to a project, well, they’re like family to us.”

The club’s first official clone, Jaki Mason, was recognized in February. She fills in for her employer, Kevin Seifert, who operates a 50-person plumbing and heating services company. “I was always interested in the things Rotarians did,” she says. “They’re very warm and welcoming, and it’s a way for me to bring information back.”

Seifert, who feared he might have to give up his membership because he was so busy, likes the arrangement. “It keeps me in the loop without having to be there every week,” he says.

Mason and two other clones helped run the petting zoos, pony rides, bounce houses, and food booths at the club’s pet fair. Stephen Moyer, a clone who is an associate of member Lori Hoppmann, appreciates the club’s “outside-the-box” thinking. “I’m really happy to play whatever role I can, clone or member or clone-to-member,” he says. “I think people who are clones will ultimately start to become full members as this program continues to evolve.”

— Brad Webber

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