PRESIDENT's COLUMN

August is Rotary Membership and Extension Month, a month when clubs worldwide place special emphasis on sharing the fellowship of Rotary with potential new members. 

As I told you a few weeks ago during our membership program, one of my goals for our club during this Rotary year is to see our club’s membership increase by a net gain of at least two new members.  The rationale behind this goal is neither to earn “Gold Club” nor to exceed the expectations of anyone at Rotary International.  The goal is instead motivated by my firm belief that there are dozens of outstanding individuals in our community who could benefit from the fellowship, service and fun that come with being a Rotarian. 

Inviting a friend, business contact or colleague to join our organization is really bestowing the gift of Rotary on another individual.  Furthermore (and perhaps selfishly), increasing our club’s membership adds additional talents, viewpoints, vocational perspectives and sets of helping hands for all of the good that our club seeks to do throughout our community and the world.

Recruiting is only one part of the equation when it comes to membership.  The other piece of the puzzle is retention, keeping the high quality individuals who are already members involved in what we’re doing as a club.  Retention is the job of each member of our club.  If you notice someone has missed a few meetings, give them a call to check in and make sure they’re doing ok and let them know they’ve been missed. 

If you have questions, concerns or ideas about how you could get more value out of your Rotary experience, talk to me or another board member about those ideas. 

Over the course of the next few weeks, I challenge each of you to think of a good candidate for membership in our club and invite them to visit a meeting.  Share Rotary with those that you believe would be good Rotarians…the gift of Rotary may be the best gift you’ve ever given to them.  

Yours in Rotary,

Jason Grubbs