July:  BRING A FRIEND TO ROTARY Month

July 2016 was recognized by Rotary District 5870 as “Bring a Friend to Rotary Month.” Because District 5870 and Rotary International haven't officially designated a theme for July 2017 (even though the above graphic suggests that it might actually be "New Leadership Month"), last year's theme seems appropriate and important enough to repeat. One of Rotary's major priorities is membership growth, extension, and retention. What would happen if every Rotarian brought a potential member to one of our meetings in July (or any month)? Remember, first-time guests of Rotarians eat free and I'll bet we can even afford another free lunch for a follow up visit, should there be one.

If we are going to increase our membership level, it is obvious that the best route to do that is to involve every Rotarian. Everyone surely has at least one friend! Exercise that friendship and let those friends learn about "Service above Self" and the fun of being a Rotarian!

• Membership is EVERY ROTARIAN'S business.  Membership is too important to be delegated to just one or two ROTARIANS in our Club or even a small committee and, certainly, membership is too important to focus on it only one calendar month of the year. 
• Membership in Rotary cannot be promoted by simply explaining to prospective members all of the rules, policies, procedures, and folklore about Rotary or The Rotary Foundation.  The hook is telling prospective new members WHY you are a ROTARIAN, why you have remained engaged in Rotary over the years, and why Rotary is important enough to you that you commit time, energy, and dollars.  Your story is a powerful tool that should be used.  
• Our Club needs to be flexible and innovative in order to retain the members that we have as well as the new members we work so hard to get. "Being a friend" is certainly the first step toward improving retention!