District 6400 Membership Chair and Past District Governor, Paul Sincock, spoke to members about membership. He began by saying that among Rotarians in North America there has been a steady decline in membership. Projections for District 6400 indicate that numbers could be down to about 1,300 members in just 2 years. Two years ago, he said, membership in the district was about 1,600. This impacts not only our district but the RI Zone we're in as well. If North American would lose substantial numbers of members and therefore it's influence worldwide, the current HQ which is now in Evanston, IL could end up in another city in the world, Paul said!
Quoting former RI President Barry Rassin, he said "Rotary clubs have to change to be relevant, They must be flexible." Look back to 1905 and you'll see that five gentlemen from Chicago started Rotary. "Today, we have the first ever female president of RI and in two years we will have another", Paul said. He shared with us the study done recently by our Zone in answer to the question: What makes a successful Rotary Club. The survey reported that the 5 things that make clubs successful and help them grow:
Strong Leadership
Active in the Local Community - Many Events & Service Projects
Visibility in the community - Strong Public Image
Active, Intentional Membership Engagement
Paul then spoke about club visioning and strategic planning. "If you have a plan, you move forward". District resources are available for both of these areas, he said. New clubs attract new members. Existing clubs, of course, fear competition but the bottom line is - "we'll get more people in Rotary! There may be some shuffling of people but that's okay." So, we should not fear the creation of new clubs. There are such things as Companion Clubs and Satellite Clubs that can be formed. All work well together. Paul urged clubs to focus on their "alumni". That might include a club's scholarship recipients who we need to find out where they are today and talk with them to see if they might want to return and become part of our organization.
Paul shared important data about our specific membership. Our club's average, he said, over the past 5 years has been 51.8 members. The Adrian Noon Rotary Club started this Rotary year with 46 members. On average, this club typically lose 8 members. Our club goal is listed as +1 by the end of the year which means we would like to see 47 members by June 30, 2023. To get to that number, Paul said, taking into account of the anticipated attrition of 8, we will need a total of nine new members between now and June 30.
Paul suggested we do a health check and even consider conducting a member satisfaction survey along with another visioning meeting conducted by members of the district committee. He also suggested that members become involved in Rotary Action Groups. Paul said that we need strong and effective social media sites on which to advertise who we are. We need to increase our presence in this community. He closed by challenging each of us to identify three people and invite them to Rotary. Thank you, Paul, for a fine presentation.
Next Board Meeting – August 17 at Chip's office in Downtown Adrian starting at 5pm.
Get Well Wishes – A card was passed around today for Doug Herrera, Kathye's husband, who is recovering from a stroke. Get well soon, Bro!
River Raisin Cleanup – Remember that this upcoming event is scheduled for August 27th from 9am-1pm starting at the trail head on West Maumee where we start the annual Bike Tour next to Dollar General. Invite anyone you know who would like to help. Bring your own tools - Rakes, pruners, clippers, shovels, etc.
Colleges Back to School WELCOME – Thursday, September 8th at the four corners in downtown Adrian. Need about 4 people. Starts at 5pm to about 7 or 8pm. We’ll be handing out bottled water and sweets. Thanks to Mark & Mary for supplying hot dogs straight from their kitchen to handout that evening.
Adrian City Band Concerts – President Chip was on hand at last Thursday's concert and presented a check form our club in the amount of $6,000!!
Lenawee Bike Tour Update – Carrie, the committee chair, reported that the latest flyer was finalized and the websites updated. Beer will not be served as previously announced since we will not be in the DARA District nor di we feel we wanted to get a permit from the city. Next meeting, Tuesday, August 16 at 5:30pm at The Red Lobster. Erik Funk who operates the Funky Dawgs food truck has graciously announced that he will be donating the hot dogs and trimmings that day and we will have a grill team set up to cook. Thanks so much Erik. Greg DuMars announced that he will be happy to supply the grill as well as pick up donuts and coffee that morning from Morning Fresh! Thanks, Greg!
District Governor's Golf Outing - September 18 - Go to www.rotary6400.org for much more info
Adrian Morning Club Event - Summer Celebration Event & Raffle - REMEMBER: Join the Adrian Morning Rotary Club on Sunday, August 21 for a special event at Chaloner's in Downtown Adrian. Tickets are $50 per person (guests 21 years old+) and include a welcome glass of sangria and 2 drink tickets, plus an entry into our event raffle with a grand prize of $500. Learn more about Adrian Morning Rotary and enjoy music from Noah Martis. Reach out to a member of Adrian Morning Rotary, to get your tickets.
2022-23 District Conference - Go to www.rotary6400.org for much more info
Speaker - Mark your calendars for our regular noon meeting on September 15 when Michael Lawrence, former NSA member under former President Trump, will make a presentation - $20 fee for non-members. Invite a friend to come.
Pork Out - On August 27 from 4-6pm at Planewave at the pavilion near Sam Beauford Workshop. Need volunteers to help cook ribs, pork chops, sausage patties, ham and BBQ pork thanks to President Chip and Greg for purchasing a prize pig from the 4H Club during the Lenawee County Fair. The members of the Adrian Police Department and their families have been invited to attend. NEED VOLUNTEERS!
Finemaster Brent was able to squeeze in a quick session and took money from: L. Smith, Moore (7), Chadha (4), Chase (3), Gardner (3), Dillon (2), Sala, DuMars, Gage (2)
Rhonda won the small $18 jackpot and then Mohinder's ticket was drawn and got to choose from the deck of card for the $837 prize but did not pick the winning card.
District 6400 Membership Chair and Past District Governor, Paul Sincock, spoke to members about membership. He began by saying that among Rotarians in North America there has been a steady decline in membership. Projections for District 6400 indicate that numbers could be down to about 1,300 members in just 2 years. Two years ago, he said, membership in the district was about 1,600. This impacts not only our district but the RI Zone we're in as well. If North American would lose substantial numbers of members and therefore it's influence worldwide, the current HQ which is now in Evanston, IL could end up in another city in the world, Paul said!
Guest today were:
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