Originally printed in District 5370 January 08 Newsletter, available in it's entirety
HERE
I am writing from Kona Hawaii, and hope to do a make up this week. Hence,
my thoughts. A fellow Rotarian in Grande Prairie attended a make-up meeting
in Winnipeg and was surprised that not only did the club not announce
him as a guest - they didn't even ask his name at sign in! It made me think
how easy it is for all of us to slip into the habit of not making welcoming
guests a priority in our clubs. How is your club doing?
When a guest is brought to the club for the first time, are they welcomed warmly from young and old members? Larger clubs may have long lists of guests, however all should be welcomed by the MC, usually the President; whenever possible in some form. Is your club ensuring guests are welcomed properly? Are they made to feel like this is a room of potential friends?
Welcoming guests and possible future Rotarians is one thing, but what about Rotarians doing make-ups? Some clubs give visiting Rotarians 60 seconds to highlight what their club is doing. Doesn't that make a Rotarian feel special and happy they attended? Of course! Sadly - some clubs barely recognize
out of town Rotarians who are visiting. While members from clubs in the
same city warrant less recognition due to time factors, I think a Rotarian who
visits from out of the region or city or certainly from out of province or country
- should be recognized loud and proud. Especially in our district where
we are not in a tourist hot spot so out of town or country visits from Rotarians
are fewer. Feeling welcome in clubs around the world is a true benefit
of Rotary, and another reason many Rotarians stay Rotarians. I attended a
club in Victoria once with an exchange student with me from Austria. It was
Christmas, and the then President announced he couldn't introduce guests,
"too many". Imagine the exchange student - (from across the world!) making
a special trip to attend and the President didn't mention her attendance.
I made a mental note for my upcoming year as president of my club that I
would always make welcoming guests a priority - especially out of town
Rotarians, and I did! As clubs we have to continue to improve how we make
guests feel when they visit our clubs, and that goes for fellow Rotarians as
well. Rotarians are very special people. Yes our own clubs are very important
to us, but equally important is the Family of Rotary and that includes clubs
we visit around the world. Make-ups can and should make us feel part of a very important family. It's the executive's responsibility; it's also a responsibility of
every member to share in the Family of Rotary, and that includes you, and me.
Kevin D. Hilgers, Rotary Club of Grande Prairie
PR & Marketing Chair, District 5370
wave@telus.net
