Call to Action!
 
Rotary’s theme for August is membership and new club development. I have a few points to make along these lines, that of course have some calls to action:
  1. Adding more members
    1. Membership is everyone’s responsibility. Be on the lookout for the characteristics we want in our members. Such things as integrity, leadership, action-oriented, service focused, diverse in background and experience, and inclusive. These are the folks that will thrive as Rotarians. They are abundant. Invite them to an event, a project, a social, a meeting, or just coffee with some other members.
    2. Speak about your club’s strengths, purpose, focus, and accomplishments. Share why you are a Rotarian. Please don’t lead with “we meet every…”, who wants another meeting???
    3. Grow your club through diversity. You will not only gain members but gain trust from your community, innovation and new ideas, and positive energy and engagement from existing members.
    4. Stay tuned for the district’s public facing membership recruiting website that the Public Image team is developing this month. Use it to help your networks (and their networks…) learn about what Rotary is all about in our communities.
       
  2. Retaining current members
    1. Ensure each member knows and feels that they belong and that they contribute. Do club health checks https://my.rotary.org/en/learning-reference/learn-topic/membership
    2. Teach new members about Rotary beyond your club. https://my.rotary.org/en/learning-reference/learn-role/new-member
    3. Get some social media energy happening. Like the District Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/RotaryDistrict5650. Your club president (or their designee) has posting capabilities so get your club’s posts on our page for all to see! If you need our help, reach out to Jared Bakewell (jaredbakewell@gmail.com) or me (dgcarol5650@gmail.com).
       
  3. New Club Development
    1. We have a New Club Development Team led by PDG Mick McKinley (I could think of no one more suited for this role). In the past couple of weeks, a lot of activity is stirring in this committee.
      1. CB Centennial Rotarian and PDG Bob Collins has stepped up to help recruit new clubs in Iowa. Thanks Bob! Let us know if you want to join in Bob’s efforts!
      2. We are meeting with the Urban League of Nebraska to discuss starting a North Omaha Rotary Club. Thank you to the Inclusion Imperative Team, led by Camille Metoyer Moten and Kathryn Schubert for getting this rolling.
    2. Omaha Downtown is working on establishing a South Omaha Satellite Club that could develop into a new club. Thanks for your initiative!
    3. There are ideas floating around for a couple of cause-based clubs: Food Scarcity and Anti Human Trafficking. To learn more about cause-based clubs and other club models https://blog.rotary.org/2019/06/11/new-rotary-club-models-enhance-connections/
    4. We are working to get the Young Leaders Fellowship, led by Shalimar Mazetis, connected. This is for our younger club members (you decide if you are younger) to connect with each other across the district. Let us know if you want in on this!
    5. A second fellowship was suggested by DGE Barb Bartle for Veterans. Looking for leadership here.
 
I would also like to give you a heads up about some new things coming from Rotary International DEI Task Force and our Inclusion Imperative.
  • Rotary just issued a new Commitment statement (expanding on their original DEI statement) https://my.rotary.org/en/learning-reference/about-rotary/diversity-equity-and-inclusion.
  • The Task Force will be releasing a Code of Conduct in September that was unanimously approved at the last RI Board meeting. Watch for that. We will post it on the District’s Facebook page when it is live. You can see a webinar from last week previewing these actions called Planning for an Inclusive Future  https://vimeo.com/channels/rotarymembership
  • Our Inclusion Imperative team will be launching our best practices (we are waiting to see the Code of Conduct) to help clubs be more inclusive. This team will be available for club presentations so please get them on your program schedule. If you want to be a member of this team, please contact Camille (metoyermoten@cox.net) or Kathryn (dgkathryn5650@gmail.com).
  • We met with fellow Rotarian, Abbi Swatsworth from Lincoln 14, who is the Executive Director of Out Nebraska. She will be helping us design 4 learning sessions about our LGBTQ community. Watch for announcements next month with content, dates, and times. Thanks Abbi!
 
Okay I will stop now! Whew!
 
Spiral Up
~Carol
 
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