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Did You Know? That when a canoe turns upside down you can wear it on your head? That’s because it is now cap-sized! I cannot express in words how grateful and excited I am to be going on this journey with you. Let’s grow Rotary, accomplish meaningful work programs, and have FUN along the way. August is Membership and New Club Development Month. Does your club have a plan to attract new members? What about a plan to retain current members? In early January I went to International Assembly in Orlando. This event is where Rotary brings all the Governor-Elects from around the world together for their final training. What a wonderful experience! (I could write pages on this experience alone.) While in a discussion on membership, at IA, I heard of a great plan one of the districts was doing to achieve both new members and keep current members. They have instigated a two-man membership team. One person is called the Welcomer. This person’s job is to make sure all new members feel welcome. After two weeks of joining, the Welcomer sends a card to the new member welcoming them to the club. On the three-month anniversary of the new member joining, the club sends the new member a Rotary Club filled with flowers, again expressing how happy the club is to have this new member. A card is sent on both the sixth and ninth-month anniversaries. Finally, a gift valued at $25 is sent on the one-year anniversary. About $100 total is spent on gifts to the new member in their first year of joining. Well worth the investment to retain a new member. The second membership team member is called the Retainer. This person’s job is to make sure all current members feel valued. If a member misses a meeting the Retainer sends the member a simple text saying “We missed seeing you at our meeting today. Hope to see you next week.” If the member misses a second meeting another text is sent. “I see that you missed Rotary again this week. Are you okay? Is there something we can help you with?” And, the Retainer takes action depending on the response. If the person misses a third meeting, the Retainer makes a personal call to the member or goes by their business to check-in. This system has resulted in retaining all new and current members since the program was implemented over five years ago. If you feel this membership program might not work for your club then work on one that will and begin implementing. What’s that old definition of insanity – We keep doing the same thing year after year and expect different results. If you are having difficulty getting new members or retaining the ones you have then it might be time to start on a new plan. NOTE: We will also have a team from Zone 31 to help us work on membership at our district meeting on August 26th. Resource: Tom Quinn, 6840 Deputy Governor of Membership. Vicky Gutierrez It’s a Great Day to be a Rotarian! Remember to have FUN. |
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