September - Baby Steps

So after a flurry of posts last month (because I started my blog late) I have had a pause for a month and have taken this time to do a stocktake of the year so far. I have received feedback that I have been too negative, and looking at August, I agree that this is the case however, this is how I felt in August and the point of all this is to tell the truth about what being the President of the Stanthorpe Rotary Club feels like for me. It doesn't really matter if you agree or disagree with me - it's how I feel. I have been told that my writing this has turned away potential members for our Rotary Club but I have also been told that it's about time we address the problems within Rotary because they, also, are a reason that members have left our Club in the past. I cannot be the only member of the Club who has had a conversation with someone where they indicate that they know what Rotary is and what Rotary does and they think it a good organisation but are not interested in joining because they've been to a meeting as a guest and found it archaic, unfriendly, stilted, boring... the list of adjectives goes on and on.

However, for me, things did start to improve in September.

This was the plan for meetings; Committee meetings, Gourmet in Gundy, DG Visit, Boomerang Bags.

Week 10 - Committee meetings - This went according to plan and I am pleased to report that from this meeting, the Secretary received nine directors reports for our Board meeting. So perhaps the new system of having an Executive Board will work after all, it just took a little adjustment. This is a work in progress.

Week 11 - Gourmet in Gundy - This is the second year that our Club has scrapped the traditional meeting on Monday night to support an event of a fellow Club. Goondiwindi Rotary Club hosts Gourmet in Gundy, a gastronomic extravaganza in one of their town parks. Not a great number of Stanthorpe Rotarians came along for this, just six, BUT, and I take this as a real positive, we also had six guests. That's six people who have had a fun day out filled with exposure to what the organisation of Rotary does. That is six more possible future members who have experienced a Rotary "meeting" that has been fun and has supported a cause above ourselves. I'd love to have had more Members along for the trip, but I'm learning to accept crawling before walking.

Week 12 - District Governor Darryll Brown Visits - I have met Darryll on a handful of occasions and he always impresses. This meeting was no exception. For the sake of members of the Old Guard, this dinner was held in the traditional style, with all the traditional formalities; toasts, chairpersons, sergeants, votes of thanks, head tables, dinner bells, national anthems. It was a well attended meeting and an engaging meeting. It was Old School. It was Formal. As meetings go, it was a Success. Not a single person present was new to Rotary. All present were Rotarians, Partners of Rotarians or Honorary Rotarians. I am not saying this with either positive or negative inflection. On that, you can make your own judgement.

Week 13 - Boomerang Bags - This meeting was an experiment (let's face it, most of my programs for meetings are experiments) but here is how it came to be. I feel strongly about preserving and improving our environment. Rotary's International President does also. I am an unabashed "tree-hugger". I have a friend named Brooke who is also of this persuasion and who is also very community spirited. I personally think that she would make a fantastic Rotarian. This friend has started up the Stanthorpe Chapter of Boomerang Bags, a movement to reduce landfill by getting rid of plastic shopping bags and replacing them with recycled, reusable hand-made bags. Some are fabric, some up-cycled feed bags and soon (thanks to this meeting) some hessian. I wanted to hold a Rotary meeting that supported a fellow community organisation, provided an opportunity to learn about a new vocational skill and allowed an "outsider" the opportunity to improve her own skill set as our guest speaker while introducing her to Rotary. Seven Rotarians attend this outing (interestingly, they were, with minor exceptions and additions, the same members who went to Gundy). Five guests of Rotarians attended this meeting and Rotary was exposed to an additional five civilians who were there as Boomerang Bags volunteers. So while there was low attendance of Members, I'd rank 10 possible future members at a Rotary meeting as a pretty good day at the office.

This is what I learned in September. I need to stop trying to push too hard too fast. Changes take time, changes to established orders (no matter how outdated those orders) takes a LOT of time. I have a small, but not insignificant, crew of Rotarians who are clearly supporting my schemes. It is for them that I will endeavour to push on and stay positive.