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‘MEMBERSHIP AND RETENTION’

Opinion article by Issa Shalhoub, this Newsletter’s editor and member of the Rotary Club of

Milton-Ulladulla, NSW, for 37 years.

The article was published, 6 August 2019, by the author in his Club’s weekly Bulletin.
Our Club is an ageing Club, our average age today is 66.51, which I believe is common with most Clubs.
In July 1993 the average was 55.39 with 47 members and in 2001 it was 57.53 with 52 members. We
need to increase our membership and bring in new blood which in turn will supply the Club with
new ideas and energy.

Although our Club has a current membership of 53, a few current members are, attendance and
service wise, ‘Missing In Action’! RI 2019-20 President Mark Maloney is asking every Rotarian to
grow Rotary.
We should not assume that the young members of our community cannot afford nor have the time to join. It is up
to every member to grow Rotary and not only the Club’s membership Committee. By the way, ten of our current
members joined Rotary when they were in their thirties and I am sure that applies to a big percentage of Clubs.

Research shows that Young community members want to do community-volunteering work, invite
young community members and say: “come and see for yourself what we do”. No one knows what
Rotary is nor what Rotarians do until they attend a meeting or two. ASK, ASK, ASK, it is that simple,
without the need to follow any particular procedure to attract new members or the need to reinvent
the wheel.

Let us invite community members to a meeting with an interesting speaker, show them
‘How Good Is Rotary’, explain what we do, let them feel the friendship, the fun we
have, our love for Rotary and then ascertain their feelings about Rotary.

Rotary is no longer an attendance Club with weekly meetings, as long as we provide
Service that is counted as an attendance, Rotary is not a ‘knife and fork’ Club but a
Service Club.
If members enjoy Rotary because of what we do and what we get back from Rotary, i.e.
Service, Accomplishment, Fun, Fellowship, Friendship, Pride, Sense of Fulfilment and
Networking, you need to share that enjoyment with your family, friends, colleagues,
neighbours, acquaintances and members of the community.

EACH ROTARIAN: REACH ONE, KEEP ONE.

Increasing membership is every Rotarian’s responsibility, every Rotarian
needs to invite someone so they can see what we do and that will
encourage them to join.

It is not just about increasing membership but just as important is keeping - retaining members, we have to mentor
new members, help them to become active and keep them involved, happy members.

The number of Rotarians worldwide has been stuck on 1.2 million for a few decades and every ten years or so we
induct one million, ‘go figure’!

Members should ask themselves:
§ “How did I join a Rotary Club?” Because someone invited me, more than
likely will be the answer.
§ “When was the last time I invited someone to attend a meeting?”
§ “When was the last time I made the effort to sit next to a new or a recently
inducted member and showed interest in what they do and offered to
mentor that person?”

Membership resourceful publication, Introducing new members to Rotary - an orientation guide.

Show your Rotary pride, raise awareness, by adding a Proud Member frame to your profile picture on
Facebook, just click on the link and see your profile picture with a ‘Proud Member – Rotary’ added to
your pic. Easy to do and I am sure you will feel proud and raise awareness amongst your followers.

Rotary on the Move September 2019 Page 4