'What does Rotary mean to you?' is the subject of Peter's musings today.
 
"So, what is Rotary?" is an oft heard question of a Rotarian.
 
Peter provides hints on how best to learn more about Rotary and to use that information to talk to prospective members.
 
The benefits of membership and the unique 'selling' points relating to our club are two other headlines he addresses.
 
Read on to benefit from our President's Musings.
 

What Does Rotary Mean to You ? and How do we Attract and Welcome New Members ?

To be a successful Rotary Club, our Members have to be familiar with Rotary ideals.  If our Members are not aware of what Rotary does, how can we attract new Members ?
 

Here are some helpful hints to use when talking to prospective Members and to assist ourselves by knowing more about Rotary.

  • Rotary is part of an international organisation consisting of people who share a passion for service.
  • Rotary's Mission Statement: The mission of Rotary International is to provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through its fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders.
  • Rotary's legacy in the effort to eradicate Polio worldwide.
  • Rotary's beginning, with a little history of Paul Harris and others from 1904.
What are some of the Benefits of Membership
  • The ability to make a difference to the lives of others through friendship and service.
  • To develop skills that can be applied to a career, eg Public Speaking, Project Management and Event Planning.
  • Learning to network with other professionals.
  • Build lifelong friendships and make international connections.
What's different about Our Club ? 
  • New members should be given  a clear idea of our Club's Culture. ie we have fun and get things done.
  • An outline of what happens at our Meetings and any attendance expectations.
  • What we do best and what we are known best for. This could be a particular Fund Raising event.
  • Our Club's history.
  • Projects and activities our Club is involved with.
  • Our Social Event Calendar.
Club Resources
Current and prospective Members can learn all they need to know about our Club via our Digital Platform.  We have a fantastic, user friendly Website, a very active Facebook Page and a weekly electronic Newsletter.  All of which are easy to read and navigate and are updated regularly.
 
Recommended links:
Club Membership is up to all our Members.  Every Member is encouraged to ask their friends/colleagues to join Rotary.  By providing this information to everyone, you will have the answer to that question that inevitably you will be asked:
 
"So, what is Rotary ?"
We are lucky.  Our Club is already a vibrant Club.  We have a good cross section of Members, male and female, and varying levels of experience throughout.  However, let's not become complacent, and always be aware of  proposing potential Members and keep the communication within our Club happening.
 
Communication is the glue that keeps us together.  Have you contacted your Buddy in a while?  Are you in regular communication with other Members of your Committee?  Communication is essential for Lifelong friendships. From this, emerges our willingness to provide Service to our Community, together.
 
Have a great weekend, everyone, and I look forward to seeing you all at our Vocational Visit on Tuesday morning.  See you at the Smart Centre.