Michael Walstrom
Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of blog posts celebrating Membership Month.
By Michael Walstrom, president of the Rotary Club of Downtown Boca Raton, Florida
Rotary, like any business, has customers. For us, those customers are our members and we must provide value to assure satisfied customers. The key to attracting and retaining young professional “customers” is presenting a Value Proposition that is attractive. Continue reading
Stratford-Upon-Avon club members prepare for the Shakespeare Duck Race.
By Jonathan Craig, secretary of the Rotary Club of Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England
Our club meets at lunch and has a membership that is mostly retired. We do have a few younger members who have their own businesses or retired early, but gone are the days when employers encouraged their local bank managers to take two hour lunches. We began to be seen as a club that wasn’t a good fit for young working people. So it became a strategic goal for our club (and also for RIBI) to attract younger members and also more women. Continue reading
A facilitator leads the discussion during the Ideas Factory.
By Daniel Vankov, president of the Rotary Club of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
At the Rotary Club of Brisbane, we attempt to be the motor behind major community initiatives in our community, in Queensland, and beyond. As members, we have a duty to continue our impact and expand it. Getting a good measure of the club, our strengths and weaknesses, so we can build on them is not easy. For humans, we can look in a mirror to do a self-assessment. At least externally. But organizations don’t have it so easy. We knew we needed to create the right mirror to get a good look inside our club. Continue reading
Michael Walstrom leads a presentation on attracting young professionals into Rotary.
By Michael Walstrom, president-elect of the Rotary Club of Downtown Boca Raton, Florida
I think most would agree that Rotary has struggled to attract and retain young professionals. At a district conference in 2016, my district governor, Eric Gordon, asked me to put together a program for “YP” development. This was a new committee, so I was starting from scratch. I was 38 at the time and two years into my Rotary journey. The only thing I really knew was that I had a lot to learn. Continue reading
Members of the Rotary Club of Sunyani Central, Ghana, hold a polio day rally.
By Frank Kofi Owusu Debrah, Foundation Chair and Past President of the Rotary Club of Sunyani Central, Ghana
It is certainly true that the reasons for a person joining Rotary are varied and many. For some, it’s the personal and business networking that motivates them. For others, it’s fellowship and a sense of belonging to a world-wide organization of people. Still for others, it’s a status symbol. Whatever the reasons, everyone has one. Sadly, some of the reasons don’t fit Rotary’s primary purpose; a network of problem solvers living the mantra of Service Above Self. Continue reading
Anil and Tulsi Maharjan on a project site in Nepal.
By Tulsi R. Maharjan, a past district governor and member of the Rotary Club of Branchburg, New Jersey, USA
For this father and son combination, Rotary is about much more than belonging to a humanitarian organization. It’s about making a difference in the world.
When you’re a part of Rotary, you’re really making a difference, both locally and internationally. When you think about all the wonderful things Rotary has accomplished, who wouldn’t want to be part of one of the most successful humanitarian organizations in history. Continue reading
Jessica Connors and Club President Michael Della Rocca plant a tree, an example of the kind of projects that can give new members ownership and responsibility.
By Michael Bucca, membership chair of the Rotary Club of Central Ocean – Toms River, New Jersey, USA
So many Rotary membership events focus on engagement and retention. It makes sense. For every member that joins Rotary, it seems there’s another member walking out the door. Long term engagement and retention are an important part of successfully growing a club for the simple fact that new membership gains can be quickly wiped out by non-engaged members choosing to leave.
The advice being given by membership chairs and leaders is sound: get new members involved right away. Our club has taken this one step further by explaining something important to our new members: Continue reading
Members of the new club.
By Yoshisaku Shimamura, past governor of District 2830 and a member of the Rotary Club of Goshogawara Evening, Aomori, Japan
It is always the young people who build our future. At the same time, we now live in an age where life expectancy can reach 100 years. Some say 80 can be the prime of one’s life. I envision a future where younger and older generations work together to promote the ideal of compassion and cooperation that we firmly believe in Rotary. Satellite clubs may be the best way to achieve that approach. This is our story. Continue reading
Past presidents and members of the Rotary Club of East Nassau. T. Murray Forde standing second from left.
By T. Murray Forde, Past Assistant Governor of District 7020 and Past President of Rotary Club of East Nassau
Part of what makes Rotary so special are the connections you make with fellow members and the impact that has on your life.
I first met Sir Durward Knowles in 1963 when I was dating his niece (now my wife). He was well known in sailing circles both locally and internationally. I remember with pride going to the airport with the family in 1964 to welcome him home from the Olympics in Tokyo. He had won the first-ever Olympic gold medal for the Bahamas, and is now the oldest living Olympic gold medalist in the world. Continue reading
Sarah Tuberty, right, and her mother during a visit to Boston last year.
By Sarah Tuberty, president of the Rotaract Club of Sargent College Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
I awoke early on a Saturday morning to the sound of my mother’s voice. “Good morning Sarah, I signed us up for a Rotary service project. You should put on old clothes. We are painting a map on the Alamo Elementary School playground. Quick, we need to leave in 15 minutes”
A form of this conversation occurred more times than I can remember when I was growing up. My mother, Katheryn Tuberty, has been a member of the Vacaville Rotary Club in California, USA, since 1998. Someone recommended to her that as the new administrator of the local assisted living center, it would be a great way to get to know the community. She was hooked from the first meeting. She loved the club, the people, and the community. She is an engaged person of action, a prominent figure in town, and a “mover and shaker.” She is also the queen of “volun-telling.”
