Page 7 - 2020-12-Rotary-on-the-Move-Newsletter-Zone-8

‘TRANSFORMING ROTARY PART 2. AT THE CLUB’

Opinion article by PDG Euan Miller, Rotary Club of Norwood Inc D9510.

Part one appeared in last month’s edition of this Newsletter.
If we cannot achieve change in the engine room of Rotary – the chub – we cannot transform Rotary.
Many clubs don’t want to change. They have a significant group of members who joined in the last
century who are happy with the culture and will continue to live service above self as they have always
done it.
Clubs with less than 20 members – and we have a lot of them in our Zone - are also unlikely to change. They recycle
Presidents because they have to and because of this, they lack the spark and energy to transform. They go through the
motions because they want to maintain the fellowship with long-term friends. Some would like to grow but only in their
present comfortable image and if they try to achieve both, they invariably fail.
Clubs with female leaders are also at risk. In one of our districts this year five women presidents have been replaced with
men, primarily because of conflict in the club. Women expect respectful relationships between members but some
members, invariably male, find this difficult to achieve. The tragedy is, if the disrespected woman resigns, she invariably
takes a coterie of other women with her.
So what do we have to do?
1. Districts need to get involved with these clubs at risk. If there isn’t a suitable candidate within the club to lead
change over a number of years, we need to salt the club with a leader. We do this when we set up new clubs – why
not with existing clubs?
2. We need to teach clubs to resolve conflict. Standards need to set and maintained. Disrespectful behaviour needs
to be called out immediately. As soon as it is allowed to fester it is too late.
3. Transformation creates tension. Leaders need to monitor any discomfort it creates and ensure all members are
comfortable with every step. Sometimes this may mean two steps back for every step forward, but as long as the
goals are clear and agreed, you will achieve.
4. This is the AGM season. DGsE and AGs should be monitoring and coaching their clubs closely for leadership
choices for 21/22. External eyes often see more clearly.
5. Districts need to create more clubs. Last year our Zone lost 22 clubs and only three districts had net club growth.
Most districts used to have an Extension committee with a prime focus of creating new clubs. If we want to
transform Rotary we need to create new clubs. Every district should have a goal of creating at least one new club
each year.

‘GOLD COAST’S FIRST CORPORATE CLUB’

Article by Barbara Mifsud, Regional Membership Officer

The Rotary Club of Gold Coast Corporate in D9640 recently chartered in October, made up entirely of
corporate members. The club, one of the first of its kind in our region, has 27 senior corporate leaders from
over 14 international and national companies, with 5 more members wanting to join since chartering. The
club has over 60% women and 40% are under 40 years of age.
The club’s champion, DG Andy Rajapakse (photo insert on
the left), tells us what the value proposition was for
corporate members when starting the club: ‘My message
was simple. Rotary gives a trusted platform to implement
their corporate purpose to be a good corporate citizen.
Today's customers will ask what your corporate purpose is
before making their purchase choice. And it worked!’

DG Andy says that it took him 100 days to start this club
from ground zero. ‘The magic was, I found the right (non-
Rotarian) community champion from a leading company in
the Corporate Centre. As leaders, we must trust the
leadership and ability of people we don’t already know’.
This new style club meets physically once a month for wine and cheese at the Corporate Centre. Each company takes a
turn hosting and showcasing their corporate story. Additionally, there is little personal outlay for members, as with
corporate membership, corporates pay RI/district dues, which can be deducted as a company expenditure before tax as
business development. This makes Rotary more affordable for everyone.
DG Andy highlights another selling point for corporates: ‘Rather than honouring their best employees with a plaque or a
watch, why not make a contribution to the Rotary Foundation and honour them with an international and ethical award,
a Paul Harris Fellow? Again, this contribution is tax-deductible.’
The club will be mentored by PDG Michael Irving as the new club advisor, for the next three years. We look forward to
seeing what the club achieves in the future.

Rotary on the Move December 2020 Page 7