District Governor-Elect Christine Rendell introduced our current District Governor, Dan Doherty, whose address highlighted recent activities at the district. District Governor Dan began his presentation by describing the RV as The People of Action bus, a tangible symbol of Rotary's commitment to being part of the community, and he invited everyone present to sign their names at the back of the RV.

 

He presented club member David "Brom" Bromwich with a pin to recognize him as an inaugural recipient of the "Building Community" award to thank him for his service to the district.

 

The main theme of District Governor Dan's presentation was the health of clubs in the district, specifically falling membership numbers. The district has lost 1500 Rotarians over the past five years, with the result that the district membership has fallen from 2200 to 1700. Echoing the comments of the RI President's representative at the 2018 District Conference, our District Governor challenged each of us to bring forward one prospective new member to join the Rotary family. This is crucial as the numbers are stark: our club alone has lost 144 members over the last five years, the majority of which left with fewer than five years of service.

 

He spoke of a survey sent to 2000 former members to identify their reasons for leaving. The survey results show that many are eager to share their reasons for leaving. Over 100 former members responded to the survey within 24 hours of receiving it, and 300 responses were received within the two week response period. They told us that our culture is broken in several ways: new members do not feel as if they are really welcome in their clubs, nor do they feel engaged. They do not feel as if their opinions and ideas are welcome.

Our former members have also struggled with time and monetary commitments. Among our former members, there is a widespread feeling that Rotary is always soliciting for money. It is therefore important that Rotary respects the pocketbooks of members, as well as their time.

 

There is also a feeling that Rotary is disconnected from the community, and that we have become little more than fundraisers and cheque writers.

 

Fully one third of the survey respondents indicated that they would be willing to rejoin Rotary if their concerns could be addressed. Our District Governor indicated that change is certainly possible, provided we remain true to The Four-Way Test, the Rotary Motto, and the Objects of Rotary.

 

Past District Governor Garth Toombs thanked our current District Governor for his presentation.