Let’s Make History Together!
District 5100 is taking a new approach to increasing membership in our district. See how you can be a part of making history.
When it comes to thinking of service projects, few are as critical to the survival of Rotary and few have a historically “dryer” reputation than that of membership. Or at least membership as we may have known it before. But things are changing in the RI world, and District 5100, the pioneer in so many other noteworthy projects, has taken the challenge to do Membership differently.
For example, take the Regional Membership Coordinator. Ever heard of one? Probably not yet. That’s because it is a new idea to District 5100. Two years ago the District Governor’s Advisory Council looked at the aging population of our District. They looked at the numbers eroding from our ranks, the decline in annual giving. Then they looked at the District: geographically and culturally diverse 10 regions in the District, each with an average of 7 clubs.
They posed the question: With all the nuances club to club, how can the District support growth and maintenance of healthy membership programs within each club, region to region? How can we “stop the bleed” and help membership programs back to long term health?
The solution became evident: Do as we did several years ago with the “Assistant Governor” concept: Localize regional efforts and start with a Regional Membership Coordinator to facilitate a regional membership team of Club Membership leaders. Provide updated, relevant training and materials and synergistic networking for local club leaders, and coordinate it with the other programs throughout the District.
The idea was tested last year in a couple of regions and was met with enthusiasm from the clubs. It also met the raw reality of any pilot/start up program: we are writing the script as we go. (To those of us in business, we recognize the challenge and the opportunity in that statement!)
2006-2007 is the year of the Roll Out plan. Half of our regions in the District have Regional Membership Coordinators (shall we call them “RMC’s for short?) in place as of this writing. And the remainder are somewhere between “just starting” to “almost there”. Our goal is to have every RMC up and running before the holidays this year.
We are looking for experienced Rotarians, passionate about keeping Rotary around for the next generation. Do you like the challenge of a fresh approach to how we conduct our Rotary business? Will you help?
Here is the profile/description of the RMC/Regional Membership Coordinator:
Who: Rotarian Leaders in good standing, preferably a member of one of the Clubs in the Region you wish to serve. Must be committed to attracting and keeping excellent Rotarians, and gutsy enough to pioneer uncharted territory.
What: Coordinate the Clubs in the “Region” with what works for the region for training, support and networking. (For example, the pilot programs last year found 4 evening meetings a year worked well.)
When: We are asking for a 1-2 year commitment.
Why: To secure the future of Rotary in our communities. We believe in a simple truth: “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
Where: In your club, in your Region.
How: Interested? Please contact your Assistant Governor or Club President or Judy McMorine (District Chair) at 360-885-0086, jmcmorine@comcast.net.
Whether your fit is working with your Club, coordinating a region, or participating in one of the District Workshops or Member Events, we have a place for you. Thinking global, acting locally, let’s get in there and write history together.
Polioplus is Rotary’s priority program which supports global efforts to eradicate polio. It was launched in 1985 with the help of dr. Albert sabin, developer of the oral polio vaccine, as a worldwide program to protect children from the cruel and fatal consequences of polio. In 1988 the world health assembly challenged the world to eradicate polio, and since that time, Rotary’s efforts, along with partner agencies, including the world health organization, the United Nations’ Children’s Fund, the u.s. centers for disease control and prevention, and governments around the world have achieved a 99 percent reduction in the number of polio cases worldwide. By the time the world is certified polio-tree, Rotary’s contributions to the global eradication effort will exceed $600,000,000.00 – making Rotary the largest non-governmental financial contributor to the global polio eradication effort.