October - Spring comes to us all

October was quite a conventional month as far as Rotary programs go. We had a great Movie night at the local theatre to raise funds for Mental Health Awareness. The movie was (again this year) one for the oldies, being about folk in a retirement home but was a great night out. We also had two guest speakers on other meeting nights who delivered their talks in the traditional Rotary way at the traditional Rotary time and in the traditional Rotary venue. Attendance by members was good (although there were few guests along to see what Rotary is about) and the mood was friendly, calm and peaceful. It has made me wonder why I am advocating so strongly for change in our Club. It is far easier to toe the line and play by the established rules!
BUT, then the emails have started to flow in from the honchos higher up the line. There are sweeping changes afoot at district level with the strong likelihood that we will no longer be District 9640 in a few years time. Why is this happening? Rotary Clubs in Australia are simply not holding on to members, let alone increasing them. Clubs are ageing and the gender balance continues to be woeful. The Powers that Be keep telling us that we need to look at how our clubs are relating to the contemporary world and adjust to new methods that suit a younger and more diverse membership base. We don't have to meet EVERY week - only every fortnight. We don't have to take attendance figures at meetings, we can get out in the community and DO things for our meetings rather than sit in an isolated room and continue outdated and uninspired rituals. When I was a kid, and my granddad and parents would head off to Rotary each Monday night, I used to joke that they were off to their "cult" meeting with its secret handshakes, private songs and special badges of honour. I was joking at the time, but it's not all that far from the truth, even now, 20 years later!
To be fair to Stanthorpe Rotarians, I think that we are doing better than many other clubs. We have at least started down the path of change. A friend of mine recently attended another club's meeting and experienced her first "traditional" sergeant session. She described it as the most uncomfortable 10 minutes of her entire Rotary experience. Yet we have members who lament the ridding of our club of this cruel and offensive finger-pointing game. I am also proud that our club no longer says a Christian Grace before our meal. Grace does not offend me personally, I am a Christian, but it does exclude people who are not of the same faith and Rotary is meant to be a secular and all-inclusive organisation.
As my year settles into some sort of routine of how meetings will run and as I begin to bear the task of running those meetings with less apprehension, I am finding that my thoughts turn more to the events that Stanthorpe Rotary participates in on an annual basis. There are a few of these in the coming months so I expect I will dwell on what we do more than how we do it next time.
Until then...