As a membership driven organization, members are the lifeblood of Rotary and our clubs.  As of July 1, 2018 our District membership was 2313. We ended last year with only one less member than when we started July 1, 2017.  Kudos to all of you for your hard work this past year.  However, I believe we can reverse the trend that our district and many others have experienced with either declining membership or no growth.  I believe that if we work together and think creatively, we can accomplish this.

 

There is an article in the August issue of The Rotarian magazine, “Step Right Up!” - by Geoffrey Johnson. The article shares 10 tips that one Rotary Club in Edina, MN did to increase their membership.  In addition, the article highlights five suggestions for increasing membership that I feel are worthy of considering. They are:

 

I recently spoke with a young professional in their mid 20’s who had been a Rotarian but left because his job was relocated to another community.  I asked him if he had joined another Rotary Club and he said no.  When I asked why, he told me many of the same things mentioned in the above article – the cost, doesn’t want to commit to a weekly meeting, etc.  However, he is interested in the networking and service aspects of Rotary without the structure that seems to come along with most clubs.

 

I think this information presents us with the opportunity to develop new clubs that address the needs of this segment of our community.

 

I found the section, Appeal to Local Volunteers, interesting.  The Roc City Rotary Club in Rochester, New York developed a creative way to showcase Rotary to non-profit organizations in their community.  They describe this as a “service oriented dating game”.  This reminded me of the networking that is developed through Rotary Means Business.

 

For the past several years we have talked about making our clubs more diverse – increasing membership of people of color/ethnicities and women.  RI President Barry Rassin said that for Rotary to serve our communities well, we need to represent our community in terms of age, gender, ethnicity and background.  Recently District 5150 reached out to their LGBTQ community since they were under-represented and created a new club.  The Rotary Board also approved an LGBTQ Fellowship Group at their June Board meeting.  https://rotaryserviceblog.org/2018/08/01/new-rotary-fellowship-brings-together-lgbt-community/

 

We need to start reaching out to people who might not know about Rotary or who feel they wouldn’t fit in.  We need to become a more inclusive organization.

 

Membership recruitment is two pronged:

Expanding locations of Rotary clubs is how our district grew in the past and how Rotary International grew and reached into all the corners of the world.

 

Resources are available to you from the District Membership Committee.

The Rotary Clubs of Carlisle, Carlisle Sunrise and the Northern Tier Steering Committee will host the eighth RMB networking event of the 2018 season and 44^th in its history on Tuesday, August 14 at the Hoffman Funeral Home and Crematory, 2020 W. Trindle Road, Carlisle, PA.  The event will run from 5:30 to 7:30 with heavy hors d’oeuvres, wine, beer, and soft beverages.  The networking event will be FREE thanks to the event sponsor Hoffman Funeral Home and Crematory. RSVP Now!! Make great connections for your business or project and enjoy the fun and fellowship of RMB.  Bring potential Rotarian guests and invite family of Rotary!

Bob and Kay McClenathan, from the Rotary Clubs of Lancaster and Lancaster Penn Square, hosted an African themed dinner event in July to raise money for the Rotary Foundation’s PolioPlus Campaign. They invited 27 Rotarians from around District 7390, and friends of Rotary, to enjoy an event with an array of decorative items recalling the Dark Continent, from wooden carvings, fabrics with African themes or the patterns of indigenous critters, to artistic representations of tribal masks and shields. The dinner meal was copied from a White House dinner reminiscent of the high quality food served in 4 and 5 Star lodges of the best Game Parks of East Africa, and included ostrich donated by a generous Rotarian in Illinois and seafood donated by a Rotarian here! The guests were entertained with a storyline right out of history books, with a few games, puzzles and twists. It was a memorable evening that raised over $6200 for our fight against the crippling disease.

The purpose of the Rotary District 7390 awards committee is to ensure all deserving Rotarians and clubs in D7390 receive the awards/recognition they merit each Rotary year.  The committee will make district and club leaders aware of available awards; as a rule, district and club leaders must be the ones to ensure the purpose of the committee is fulfilled each Rotary year. Leaders lead!!!

 

There are many awards available from either Rotary International or the District. Click here to view the complete list and nominate a deserving Rotarian! 

 

 The Rotary Clubs of Carlisle and Carlisle Sunrise recently celebrated Christmas in July with the residents of One and Two West Penn.  With help from members of Carlisle Victory Circle and the Carlisle High School Cheer Leaders, the residents enjoyed snacks, singing, door prizes and a visit from Santa (aka Dan Monken) himself.  Each resident was then given a gift bag of goodies provided the Rotary Clubs.  Here, Santa participates in a cheer with the Carlisle High School Cheer Leaders during the party at One West Penn.

 

The Rotary Club of Perry County sponsored Annaka (Annie) Wolfe to spend the 2017-18 Rotary year as a Rotary Youth Exchange student ambassador in Peru. Annie recently made a presentation to the Club about her experience. Annie is pictured with Exchange Program Liaison, Patti McLaughlin, and one of this year's co-Presidents, Tom O'Connell.

Hello Everyone,

We all get many, many, emails from Rotary and on Rotary related topics. I’m respectfully requesting you give your attention to this one. Our topic is the upcoming event planned from September 20-22 in Montreal.
 
Formerly known as the Zone Institute, we have renamed it the Zone Conference. So, what’s the same, and what’s different. The Institute was originally designed to motivate, inspire, and educate past, current and incoming district governors. That has not changed. We want and need as many past governors in attendance because we know there is a critical mass of that talent and leadership that can make an event magical. The pledge of the entire planning team is that the event will be worthy of your time and resources.
 
What has changed. Historically attendance at a Zone Institute was restricted to those in the Governor line. If that wasn’t you, you weren’t allowed to register for the entire event. What we know though, and there are examples repeated over and over again, is that club and district Rotarians who have been able to interact with District Governors (past, present, and future) they get inspired by them and become more engaged in our organization. They get more involved. They aspire to higher levels of leadership, some of them even getting on the Governor track. (Our organization and our Zones need more of that engagement NOW)
 
We decided to facilitate that process and open up Montreal to ALL Rotarians. We want to facilitate and be a catalyst for that engagement between our Governors (and their knowledge, leadership skills, and commitment) and club and district Rotarians. The goal is that it will be meaningful for all. The goal is that the event will speak to all who attend.
 
Click here for the program and registration information. 

Take a look at the program.

Share the link with Rotarians in your club and in your area. (please)

Register! (please)

Come and enjoy the wonderful city of Montreal.

Come and renew old friendships, and create new ones.

Mingle with RI President Barry Rassin and his wife Esther and other Rotary leaders from around North America.

Participate in the facilitated discussion group breakouts. Share your knowledge. Glean new morsels to take back home with you.

Be inspired by world class speakers.
 
On behalf of the entire Montreal planning team, we look forward to being with you in September. We appreciate you. Thanks for your consideration. Reach out to me personally with any questions.

jeffrycadorette@gmail.com
 
Jeffry
RI Director, 2018-20