Speaker this week was District Governor Vidya Nand who was accompanied by Kirsten Hawke, D.G. Elect and Joyti Singh, D.G. Nominee – quite a distinguished line-up!
By way of introduction we had the revelation of the Rotary theme for the year –‘The Magic of Rotary’ by the current World President Stephanie A. Urchick. She also gave an overview of the goals for the year which included the continuation of empowering women and girls and Mental Health awareness plus a challenge to grow Rotary with the creation of new clubs.
Vidya gave some encouraging news that our District 9920 had the largest increase in membership in the last year
General emphasis was on making Rotary relevant, attractive to new members and engaging for current ones with the backing not only of the Rotary Learning centre but also of the local support network and District Community Leaders – see 9920 website.
The goals of any project undertaken should consider these questions:
- What impact can it have in promoting the Rotary brand?
- Who does it reach by way of prospective new members?
- Does it engage the membership, giving them satisfaction?
- Does it open up new possibilities for further development?
9920 priorities include strategic plans for the next two year, portfolios of action plans, club action plan templates, embracing the Regionalisation Pilot, collaborative growth plans with identified community leaders, a focus on growing Rotary through its public image and with development of youth and embracing the Building Better Communities Project – no pressure!
Clubs were encouraged to make good use of the Regional Council expertise, especially in the promotion of rotary to attract new members.
An increase in Polio Plus and Foundation giving is also desired.
Finally Vidya gave a heads-up for the joint 9920and 9930 Rotary Districts Conference which is to be held in Rotorua from 16 to 18 May next year at the Energy Events Centre.
Vidya’s talk engendered a number of questions including about ways to keep Rotary affordable, something which has obviously engaged the organisation at all levels. Those present were appreciative of the updates and thanked Vidya by warm acclamation.
