RI President 2022-23 Jennifer
Jones
Rotary Club of Windsor-Roseland
Ontario, Canada
================
Dear Fellow Rotarians, Rotaractors, and friends,
January 2023
Rotary recently surveyed our members and found something that should
be unsurprising but still caused many of us in Rotary leadership
to sit up and pay attention: The single most important factor in
member satisfaction is the club experience. How at home you feel
in your club, how rewarding club meetings are, and how engaged you
feel in service projects.
I have seen this firsthand across the Rotary world this year. When
members feel an emotional connection to their club, they cannot
imagine leaving. And that connection is often forged in “Rotary
moments,” when people feel that special connection to the
people around them and the impact of their service. Our Imagine
Impact Tour is all about shining a light on those Rotary moments
and encouraging our members to tell their stories.
But there’s something else that makes an enormous difference
in building and sustaining that connection. It’s the comfort
and care of our members — both Rotarians and Rotaractors.
As my Rotary friend Todd Jenkins says, “People can’t
see how you think, but they sure can see your actions.”
We are in the relationship business, and if we take care of each
other — genuinely show concern for each other — then
we will make friends for life, and we will do anything to widen
that circle of friendship.
The question is: How do we live with our eyes wide open and do the
things that really matter? We do this by taking time for each other,
actively listening to one another, and treating every Rotary member
as equally valuable — no matter how long we have been a member
or what position we hold.
People like me in Rotary leadership can offer all kinds of advice
about how to make your club experience more valuable. But what’s
most important is for everyone in every Rotary club to speak up
and listen to one another. We should never be afraid to share with
our fellow Rotary member what we expect to get out of our membership
and have an open discussion about how to make that happen.
To lead a Rotary club is to invite such dialogue and to be willing
to try new approaches. Good leadership is giving it away. Propping
others up. Allowing others to feel the victory.
I have one last request for club leaders. We still need to do more
worldwide to increase our female membership. It’s up a bit
this year, but I know we can and must do better. Rotary is growing
again. As I write this, we’re just a handful of members away
from surpassing 1.2 million Rotarians again. So let’s redouble
our efforts to bolster our clubs with great new members, then keep
them for life by providing comfort and care.
Jennifer Jones
President 2022-23
Trustee Chair's Message - December
2022
Ian H.S.
Riseley
Trustee Chair 2022-23
Sandringham, Victoria, Australia,
Trustee chair's
message
January 2023
A new year is upon us. As we look forward to new beginnings
and experiences, let’s think outside the box
and find new opportunities to serve through Rotary.
Consider taking up a community economic development
project this year. In this Rotary area of focus, we
apply our professional experience by promoting the
entrepreneurial spirit as we help communities help
themselves in a sustainable way. Community economic
development projects, to paraphrase the universal
adage, don’t just give someone a fish today
but teach them to fish so they can eat for a lifetime.
These projects can be microloans to start up a livestock
breeding business, or they might take the adopt-a-village
approach in which Rotary works with communities on
multipronged efforts to boost local economies sustainably.
In 2000, during its transition to independence, Timor-Leste
was reeling from political violence and destruction.
Communities not only needed shelter and improved living
conditions but also a new economy.
This is where Australian Rotary clubs stepped up with
the East Timor Roofing project to produce and install
corrugated roofing, and later, water tanks and grain
silos. As the project grew, other organizations joined,
including The Rotary Foundation, which delivered a
grant that set the project on its path to success.
Before long, East Timor Roofing became a financially
viable enterprise, raising enough money to build roofs
for homes, schools, orphanages, and commercial buildings.
Subsistence farmers got silos for their crops. Hundreds
of Timorese received professional training in basic
building and administrative skills. Thousands of new
water tanks ensured that young girls could attend
school rather than fetching water.
What began as a roofing project is today a commercial
enterprise employing local people and making a huge
impact. And your Foundation paved the way.
What experiences lie ahead for you in 2023? A district
or global grant? Or possibly a visit to Melbourne,
Australia, just up the road from my home, to make
new friends, reunite with old ones, and find partners
for projects during the 2023 Rotary International
Convention?
Let’s make a New Year’s resolution to
take advantage of opportunities to learn, grow, and
serve. And let’s have some fun in the process.
This is Rotary, after all.
So, my friends, let us go forth and carpe annum —
seize the year.
http://www.endpolio.org/donate.
Ian H.S. Riseley
Trustee Chair 2022-23
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