I'm taking an afternoon break from sessions to report from Memphis and the Large Rotary Club Conference and share some interesting early findings from my trip. With two main 12+ hour conference days, I don't have a ton of time to do long syncs with other Club Directors and President Elects, but I have already planned to do Zoom follow-ups at a later date with clubs that look like our own, including the Rotary Club of Cincinnati.
With that, see some of the ideas and insights that have stood out to me so far. If you see anything you would like to see explored at our club, please send your recommendations to feedback@seattlerotary.org.
- During a Rotary and the Media panel, a member of the Memphis club stressed the importance of leadership unity within clubs. Memphis has weekly club leadership meetings to discuss what kind of work their club should be focusing on in the community.
- During a Membership Sharing session, several club membership ideas were discussed. Baton Rouge has monthly dinners at member homes for 5-6 prospects that are invited after being identified as targets by the membership committee. Another club has a competition between the board and general membership to bring in new members. The group that brings in fewer members is the "loser" and they have to organize or participate in a club service event as a result.
- During an Executive Director Advice to President Elects session, several directors said they are part of their club's nominations committee and provide advice and guidance to help the club have a diverse ballot of suitable future leaders. Executive Directors at other clubs sit on their club boards and help guide other strategic efforts.
Other observations:
- LOTS of clubs are changing venues right now, and these changes aren't going over well with members!
- We have good financial footing compared to many larger clubs. (Thanks Jeff! I met someone here who met you at a conference recently and she asked if you'll be Club President someday!)
- I was surprised by how many other large clubs are on a pay as you go lunch model.
- One club has a long-standing spring event that acts as a fundraiser for their foundation. This event has historically been a private "club member and their spouse" event, but the club Executive Director is pushing them to make it public in order to increase the amount of money it raises (and in turn raise the club's profile locally!). Members are resisting, worried about how doing public-facing fundraising will negatively impact their exclusive club image...
- We need to be doing internal research to see where our members sit on boards in our community. Do we have many members on boards? Not many? What types of boards are they on? Is it a variety? The more members we have on other area boards, the more "in touch" we can be to our community at large, knowing where needs lie and being able to connect needs to Rotary support.
- We are one of the only clubs attending that does not have its own signature service event (or events!). Many in-house service events at other clubs were formed as a reaction to community needs, as is the case with the Louisville club that spun up a standing project in the aftermath of the Breonna Taylor shooting. Club members create and execute these projects, sometimes putting several member suggestions in a survey letting members pick which one they would most likely participate in to determine the winning project. Executive Directors offer project support by providing communication and administrative support in preparation.
- One club has a Community Impact committee whose purpose is to exclusively track community area needs and help pair organizations with other collaborators and their Rotary club to offer service and support.
That's all for now!
