Rotary
International 2014 International Assembly Speeches
RI President Ron Burton @ International Assembly
14
"Youth in Membership"
Good afternoon. I am honored to be here today,
addressing you, the governors of 2014-15. And as I stand here looking
out at Rotary’s future leaders, I think it is altogether fitting
that I talk about something that is critical to our very existence.
And that is membership.
We have talked so much about membership in
Rotary in recent years. We need younger members, we need more women,
we need a more representative cross section of our communities.
But the fact of the matter is, we just need more members. And I
think we all know why. With more members we can build stronger clubs,
we can have a greater impact on our communities as well as the world
at large, we can increase support of our Rotary Foundation, thereby
putting more hands and hearts to work changing more lives. And as
a result, we can attract more publicity, which will in turn strengthen
Rotary.
We’ve been spending a lot of time talking
about attracting members. We talk about making Rotary look good,
we talk about public image, we talk about all the things we can
do to get people interested in Rotary membership. But I think we
haven’t been talking enough about something that’s even
more important, and that’s making Rotary membership work for
all of our members, so that they don’t just join a Rotary
club — but stay and become Rotarians.
We need to look harder at our clubs, be honest
with ourselves about the obstacles to membership, and be open to
change — so that we can make Rotary not only an attractive
choice, but a viable choice, for people of all ages. There are many
Rotary clubs that are doing just fine, with a growing membership,
productive service, and engaged Rotarians. But there are many more
that are standing still or going in the opposite direction.
Part of your job as district governors will
be identifying those clubs and helping them turn Things around.
And that will mean figuring out what’s not working in those
clubs — and the best ways for them to move forward. It will
mean helping them to think creatively, and honestly, about how to
engage Rotary — and how to grow for the future. And, in many
cases, that may mean doing things a little bit differently than
they are being done now.
Not every Rotary club has to be a traditional
one. And some of the best clubs out there don’t look anything
like the Rotary clubs most of us probably belong to. A few months
ago, Jetta and I were in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, and we
had the chance to visit the Charlotte End-of-the-Week Rotary Club.
They meet every Saturday morning from 10:00 till 11:00 at a local
church. We walked in unannounced during their meeting and surprised
them. There wasn’t a business suit in sight. The first thing
I noticed was that off in one corner of the meeting room were everyone’s
kids! They were quietly entertaining themselves while sitting around
a table with some paper and crayons and some toys, keeping themselves
busy and having fun while their parents got on with their Rotary
meeting.
Most of the members are from the Haitian community
in Charlotte. I don’t think any of them would call themselves
wealthy, but I can tell you that club has some great Rotarians.
And they’ve found ways to make Rotary service work for them.
They have adapted to their community. Nobody pays for meals. Each
week, someone takes a turn bringing something for everyone for Breakfast,
like bagels or sweet rolls. Nobody’s missing work to be there,
nobody’s missing time with their kids, and a lot of the members
are married couples; when Saturday morning rolls around, the whole
family heads off to the Rotary meeting together! Now that’s
what I call bringing the family of Rotary to life.
They’re doing some great service, better
than many traditional clubs. Locally, they volunteer at Second Harvest
Food Bank, Urban Ministries’ St. Peter’s Soup Kitchen;
they support Ronald McDonald House, donate computers to the Relatives
Crisis Center, and collect toys and household items for the battered
women’s shelter. Internationally, they support several projects
in Haiti, partnering with other Rotary clubs to support telemedicine
projects, a water treatment system, solar pumps, and storage tanks.
They have also partnered with the UNC-Charlotte STARS Alliance to
assist with a two-week Computer workshop. Now they are planning
to support a school in Haiti.
They’re enjoying Rotary to its fullest,
without having to make a lot of sacrifices. Their kids look forward
to it every week; they get together with their friends on Saturday
morning, and maybe even get a doughnut out of it! And I can tell
you, these kids are growing up with good feelings about Rotary,
and I’d say it’s pretty likely that one day they’ll
decide to be Rotarians themselves.
The average age of the members in that club
is probably around 35. Not too many clubs can claim that. And I
wouldn’t be surprised if some of them were sitting in these
seats here in San Diego not too far down the road — because
they are engaged in Rotary, enjoying Rotary, achieving in Rotary.
And isn’t that why we’re here?
If we want to attract young members, we have
to think about what life is like for them. They’ve got busy
jobs, and probably their spouses do as well. They probably have
young kids who they don’t see nearly as much as they’d
like to. And their budgets might not be what ours are, at our stage
in life.
Which brings me to one more issue that we
need to address, if we’re serious about bringing more people
into Rotary, especially young people. And that is the issue of cost,
of just how much it really does cost to be an active member of a
Rotary club. That’s not a problem we can solve in Evanston.
The dues each of us is paying to Rotary International this year
are 53 U.S. dollars — that’s about one cup of fancy
coffee a month. That’s not stopping anyone from being a Rotarian.
What’s keeping people out aren’t the RI dues but the
costs that are set at the club and district levels — costs
that can reach thousands of dollars a year. And that’s just
membership fees, which don’t include Rotary events like club
projects, district conferences, annual dinners, Foundation fundraisers,
and zone institutes.
Do we really want to be charging people that
kind of money for things they don’t necessarily need or want,
when what they do want to do is serve? Isn’t that a little
self-defeating? Wouldn’t we do better to keep those costs
down — and get our numbers, and our service, up? One size
doesn’t fit all in Rotary. Some clubs do want the nice meals
in the fancy restaurants, and that’s OK. Nobody’s telling
any club that they have to change. But we do need to be open to
doing things in different ways, on a local and club level. We
need to encourage Rotarians to do things the way they work best
in their own community. And that’s why we’ve made the
decision to establish and support regional membership plans —
so that every area of the Rotary world can move forward on membership
in a way that will be the most successful for them.
The one thing we do know for sure about Rotary
is that we can’t keep doing things the way we’ve always
done them, because the world isn’t the same as it was. We
need to be bold. We need to be flexible. We need to be tolerant.
We need to remember that the strength that you see in this room
— hundreds of people speaking dozens of languages, from every
possible background — is what makes Rotary what it is. And
if we understand that, then we have to also realize that we can’t
be looking to recruit only people who are just like us.
Rotary is a place where we embrace our differences.
And just as we accept that Rotary is going to be different in every
zone and district, we also need to accept that Rotary is different
in every club. As long as we’re working toward the same goals,
as long as we’re sharing the same ideals, we are all Rotarians.
And Rotary is big enough for all of us. Whether our club meets in
a hotel restaurant or a church basement, a brew pub or a city park
— whether we have a three-course meal or a piece of pizza
— that doesn’t really matter. What matters is that we
do what Rotarians are supposed to do: put Service Above Self.
It’s time to say, “Let’s
try something new,” instead of “We don’t do that
in Rotary.” It’s time to be proactive instead of reactive
because that’s the attitude that’s going to get us stronger
clubs today — and a stronger organization tomorrow.
Speaking of new, I am pleased to announce to you the official Rotary
New Member Sponsor Recognition Program. This program is a result
of the Rotary Board of Directors ensuring that every Rotarian who
sponsors a member receives recognition for their efforts.
It is my distinct pleasure to share that every
district governor-elect will receive his or her own sample of the
pin at the membership breakout session following this plenary session.
Immediately following the assembly, all the members in the RI database
who have sponsored a new member since 1 July 2013 will receive their
own pin and the appropriate backer, based on the number of members
they have sponsored.
I am pleased to report that over 6,000 of
these pins will be distributed to club presidents so that they can
recognize the sponsors in their clubs. I encourage you to support
this program and let your clubs know that we recognize their efforts
to increase Rotary’s membership.
Attracting more women, younger members, and
supporting vibrant clubs and innovative service projects —
that’s how we’re going to engage Rotary and change lives.
And it’s how all of you are going to Light Up Rotary —
all over the world, when you come into office on 1 July, as Rotary
International’s newest district governors.
Thank you.- 2014-15 R. I. President Ron Burton
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