.jpg)
“If Rotary is to realize its proper destiny, it must be evolutionary at all times, revolutionary on occasion.” — Paul Harris
As I watched the various celebrations of the 50th Anniversary of the first Rotaract Club, I thought of all the other programs that Rotary has for youth and young people. I have shared before that I facilitated group discussions at Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) and was a Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) host parent before joining my first Rotary Club. I believe that members stay in Rotary because there is some service work for which we are passionate. For me that passion is youth and international understand.
Passion alone is not enough to maintain one’s interest in Rotary. Nor, does passion have the ability to sustain a Club. When talking with other Club Presidents and Past-Presidents, it is not uncommon that we share difficulty finding enough volunteers to run projects that were once the Club’s signature in the community. Somewhere along the line the fun and fellowship of the project turned into managing a set of task lists. As our speaker, Past RI Director Holger Knaack, commented in a keynote at the Carolina’s PETS 2015 Rotary has gotten secured in policies and procedures. These practices tend to make Rotary outdated and uninviting to the millions of youth and young people whose lives we changed through our service.
In a Rotarian article titled, “Rotary is not a Closed Shop,” PRID Holger identifies two types of Rotary Clubs appeal to prospective members. The first type is established Clubs because there is a special prestige to be a member. Holger Knaack uses the phrase "first clubs in the field" to describe this type of Club. With our 14th anniversary less than 2 weeks away, we are one of the oldest eClubs and fell into this type for period of time. The second type are Clubs that form a powerful community and promise a lot of fun. We have the potential to be that type of Club and we need to attract ReCSWUSA to young professionals to reach that potential.
I heard something over the weekend that may be helpful in getting more young professionals, specifically Rotary Alumni, to become active with a Club. The speaker read, “If you want someone to pick up the ball, you must first let go of it.” What are the policies, procedures, and traditions that we hold too tightly that young professionals believe would prevent them from exploring their passion for service through Rotary? How can we clearly articulate that one of our value propositions is “[t]he application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian’s personal, business, and community life?”