President Jeromy Challenges us All
In his incoming speech President Jeromy challenged us all to invite one person to a Rotary meeting sometime during the year. His speech is attached.
Good evening fellow Rotarians, family and friends:
I would like to start tonight by sharing with you the story of my first Rotary meeting:
"I was 10 years old and Christmas was just around the corner. My dad met me unexpectedly in class just before lunch and off we went to the annual Rotary Club lunch with Santa. Right away, I thought this Rotary THING was pretty cool! Out of school early and a visit from the big guy himselfâ?Ã'¦SANTA! From that meeting on, I was hooked on that Rotary THING."
It took a long time from that day to figure out what that Rotary THING was all about. Over the past year in preparation for this challenge I have once again been inspired. Over the past 12 months I have been able to see Rotary as a whole. As a community that stretches far across 200 countries and geographical areas, and to the hearts of 1.2 million members worldwide! The goal is always the same: "Service above Self".
Each year the incoming President of Rotary International chooses a theme, something Rotarians can focus on throughout the year. This year that theme is "Make Dreams Real". Dong Kurn Lee (DK for short) would like us to focus our attention on children's health. Whether it is supplying fresh drinking water to families around the world or our very own Snacks Ahead Program here in Yellowknife, the vision is clear: In some way help improve the lives of today's youth, help make their dreams real!
A little closer to home in late May, the Rotary Club of Yellowknife participated in it's first ever Strategic Planning Session. The Club members present had a chance to identify activities we had been involved with in the last 12 months, contributed to a SWOT analysis and helped lay the foundation for this Executive for the coming years. One question we asked the members was:
"Looking back as of June 30th, 2011 what would you be most proud of?"
Here is the list:
1) Interact Club of Yellowknife up and running
2) Finish a major Community Service Project
3) Have a successful Rotary outreach program in Northern Communities
4) Increased member involvement-50% of the Club actively involved
5) Increase Membership to 80-85 members
6) Increased Community awareness of what the Club does
I'm sure everyone can agree that those goals are something we all can be proud of. As an Executive these are the areas that we will be focusing our time on. If we as a club can tackle those 6 fundamental ideas imagine how strong this club will be in three years.
We are going to have some FUN this year. We will challenge, inspire and try new methods to compliment our precious traditions. We will take a hard look at our current meals and venue location to make certain that Rotarians have a place to gather week in and week out.
Now, it would be a new Rotary year without a new Rotary challenge! Here is my first challenge to you:
We see service clubs across Canada dwindling. Fewer and fewer members are joining each year. Volunteering is down. If this trend continues we will not see June of 2011. We need to go on a membership drive. Working with our P/R Committee we will re-introduce Rotary to Yellowknife. This is where you as individuals come in. My challenge is this:
Invite one new person to a Rotary meeting. That's it, that simple. That person cannot have come to a meeting before; they cannot be your spouse or kids (unless they are thinking about joining) and has to be someone who you feel would be a great Rotarian. A friend once told me that being a true Rotarian was when Rotary goes from your head to your heart. Invite a true Rotarian. To make this easier the Rotary Club will pay for it - we will pick up the tab. The card I am going to pass out is a card that I want you to keep with you. It is a reminder of the type of person we are looking for. Once you find that person please invite them out to our next Rotary meeting. Redeem the card at the front door. Only one catchâ?Ã'¦invite them back! This year our overall Club goal is to increase membership by 10% and together I know we can do it.
Thank you.
I would like to start tonight by sharing with you the story of my first Rotary meeting:
"I was 10 years old and Christmas was just around the corner. My dad met me unexpectedly in class just before lunch and off we went to the annual Rotary Club lunch with Santa. Right away, I thought this Rotary THING was pretty cool! Out of school early and a visit from the big guy himselfâ?Ã'¦SANTA! From that meeting on, I was hooked on that Rotary THING."
It took a long time from that day to figure out what that Rotary THING was all about. Over the past year in preparation for this challenge I have once again been inspired. Over the past 12 months I have been able to see Rotary as a whole. As a community that stretches far across 200 countries and geographical areas, and to the hearts of 1.2 million members worldwide! The goal is always the same: "Service above Self".
Each year the incoming President of Rotary International chooses a theme, something Rotarians can focus on throughout the year. This year that theme is "Make Dreams Real". Dong Kurn Lee (DK for short) would like us to focus our attention on children's health. Whether it is supplying fresh drinking water to families around the world or our very own Snacks Ahead Program here in Yellowknife, the vision is clear: In some way help improve the lives of today's youth, help make their dreams real!
A little closer to home in late May, the Rotary Club of Yellowknife participated in it's first ever Strategic Planning Session. The Club members present had a chance to identify activities we had been involved with in the last 12 months, contributed to a SWOT analysis and helped lay the foundation for this Executive for the coming years. One question we asked the members was:
"Looking back as of June 30th, 2011 what would you be most proud of?"
Here is the list:
1) Interact Club of Yellowknife up and running
2) Finish a major Community Service Project
3) Have a successful Rotary outreach program in Northern Communities
4) Increased member involvement-50% of the Club actively involved
5) Increase Membership to 80-85 members
6) Increased Community awareness of what the Club does
I'm sure everyone can agree that those goals are something we all can be proud of. As an Executive these are the areas that we will be focusing our time on. If we as a club can tackle those 6 fundamental ideas imagine how strong this club will be in three years.
We are going to have some FUN this year. We will challenge, inspire and try new methods to compliment our precious traditions. We will take a hard look at our current meals and venue location to make certain that Rotarians have a place to gather week in and week out.
Now, it would be a new Rotary year without a new Rotary challenge! Here is my first challenge to you:
We see service clubs across Canada dwindling. Fewer and fewer members are joining each year. Volunteering is down. If this trend continues we will not see June of 2011. We need to go on a membership drive. Working with our P/R Committee we will re-introduce Rotary to Yellowknife. This is where you as individuals come in. My challenge is this:
Invite one new person to a Rotary meeting. That's it, that simple. That person cannot have come to a meeting before; they cannot be your spouse or kids (unless they are thinking about joining) and has to be someone who you feel would be a great Rotarian. A friend once told me that being a true Rotarian was when Rotary goes from your head to your heart. Invite a true Rotarian. To make this easier the Rotary Club will pay for it - we will pick up the tab. The card I am going to pass out is a card that I want you to keep with you. It is a reminder of the type of person we are looking for. Once you find that person please invite them out to our next Rotary meeting. Redeem the card at the front door. Only one catchâ?Ã'¦invite them back! This year our overall Club goal is to increase membership by 10% and together I know we can do it.
Thank you.