District Rotarians,
I have really enjoyed being the District 5020 Newsletter Editor for the last six months, but I am truly honored to be your new District Membership Chair. Our district is one of the largest in the world, and I am looking forward to meeting so many great Rotarians and helping them to engage others in Rotary.
One of my first tasks as your new District Membership Chair is to put together a District Membership Team. These wonderful Rotarians, who answer the call, will be helping me to reach out to every club in the district and provide them with the tools and training to attract, engage, inspire and retain members in their clubs. If you would like to help in this effort I would love to hear from you.
The effort of a Rotarian to bring a new member into a club can be challenging for some, but it is a simple thing. You’ve probably heard before that if everyone in Rotary brought in just one member our club’s would double in size…that’s simple math, but sometimes the simplest of things are the hardest to do. Did you know that only 20% of members in our district have ever sponsored a new member into Rotary?
As January is Vocational Service Month, I encourage you to look beyond the typical makeup of your club and invite other professionals in your community to join your meetings. Be true Rotarians and “Recognize the worthiness of all useful occupations.” It is very rare that you can look into a person’s heart from a distance and determine if Rotary is right for them.
Past Rotary International President Joseph A. Abey once said, “This is not a time for us to say, ‘Somebody ought to do that.’ Our words must be, ‘We will do it.’”
I am committed to bringing in my one member. Who’s with me?
Corey Lopardi
District 5020 Membership Chair