Rotary Club of Trail Report on Membership, Membership Committee
Revision date: April-2006
Created date: April-2006
Revised by: Leigh Harrison
Information for prospective members of the Rotary Club of Trail
Rotary is first and foremost a service club as the Rotary motto "service above self' confirms.
Joining any Rotary Club, certainly a successful and vibrant one, is a significant commitment of time and energy.
In the experience of generations of Rotarians, it is the regular attendance at meetings and generous participation
on our projects and fund raising that gives rise to the feelings of accomplishment and fellowship that make Rotary
a highly valued part of Rotarians' lives.
Accordingly, attendance at Rotary should be the norm. If holidays or life circumstances make it impossible to attend
a few meetings, you will not be drummed out of Rotary even if, for a month or so, your attendance falls below the
statutory minimum of 60%. On the other hand 60% attendance is a minimum and not the goal, which should be to attend
every meeting possible.
If you find yourself picking and choosing the meetings that "interest" you, or think to yourself that
60% attendance is "what's required" it will undoubtedly be a sign that the club has failed to fully involve
you. . .
The club will be trying to involve you in at least one committee and one of our projects because we know that is
the way to have you fully enjoy Rotary and make your own contribution. It's by sitting on committees and planning
and attending Rotary projects with your fellow Rotarians that the fellowship of Rotary will truly be developed
for you. Even coming to 100% of meetings will not develop the fellowship that makes Rotary worthwhile, in the absence
of being actively involved in the work of Rotary. If the executive fails to take the initiative in this regard,
please point out to the president that you want to be given some responsibilities immediately.
Rotary is not inexpensive in terms of time or money commitment. Initiation costs $40 and annual dues are $150 payable
in two installments on 2-July and1- Jan. Lunch costs $10 and you will be hit up for a couple of dollars a week
in rackets which are fines for real or imagined transgressions of Rotary rules. In your birthday month you contribute
$10 to the club. Additionally, and in keeping with Rotary International's "Every Rotarian Every Year, EREY" program, you are expected to be donating annually to the Rotary
Foundation. The suggested minimum is US$100 annually, although many donate more. In exceptional cases $100 annually may be too much for some budgets,
but even in those cases, something should be donated annually.
The importance of donating to the Rotary Foundation is that our local Club can then access matching funds for our community and international projects.
In fact, it's possible to leverage our club funds 3 to 5 times over, by accessing all of the Foundations funding
possibilities.
The club expects you to help organize and attend our fund
raisers. Again these are not an option for you to pick only if one particularly appeals to you. Membership attendance
and participation is the bargain we make with our executive and committees in return for the effort they put into
organizing the meetings and projects. Indeed, you as well will soon expect that same support as you become involved
in a committee and a fund raising or service project. The financial cost of attending a reasonable share of fund
raising events is a part of belonging to Rotary.
Being able to make an even bigger difference in people's lives through successful projects creates a motivated
membership which in turn leads to more members, more projects and more fellowship and satisfaction. The Rotary
wheel has three spokes, attendance, participation and financial
contribution, and if any one of the spokes
is missing, the wheel doesn't run smoothly.
Don't join Rotary just to "network" although after a couple of years fully participating in Rotary activities
you will have developed relationships that will enrich your life in many ways. Being a "RINO" (Rotarian
in name only) will create the opposite impression you hope to.
This isn't the army or a rule ridden cult however. If you are prepared to make the necessary commitment to Rotary,
it will bring you tremendous enjoyment and satisfaction. Please don't think of this dissertation as a bunch of
rules to be disobeyed at your peril, but rather a road map to making your Rotary experience everything that it
should be.
Rotary Club of Trail, Membership Committee