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Club Future

A discussion for Club Members and friends on the future of the Rotary Club of Waitara

At a recent Club Assembly members were asked to voice their opinion on the future of the club. This was initially motivated by a request from another club to consider amalgamation. This is my short summary of an interesting and passionate meeting. I have placed it under Club Service I think for obvious reasons.

  • Members were not keen on amalgamating with any club
  • Felt our culture was unique and would be lost
  • Many members said they would probably choose a different club to join from the one that requested us to consider amlgamation, if this club closed. Some said they would probably leave Rotary.
  • It was felt that if nothing else changed then the area would end up being served by one small and shrinking club rather than two.
  • Several members commented that this was more than a club, it was a gathering of good friends
  • We like being small - but would like to be about twenty five in number

 

Problems with the club that need addressing in the short term:

  • Need a new venue with better atmosphere and better food
  • Need to tighten the meetings - getting a bit too 'free'. This would help us to present a better image
  • Maybe cut back on some projects to allow us to concentrate on membership

 

Suggestions for the future:

  • Need to find different ways of operating. One hundred years of the same operation needs to change to survive.
  • Need much better marketing and branding of Rotary and Waitara in particular.
  • Need to build cooperation between clubs, break down the barriers and get all clubs thinking of the big picture not just 'our' club.
  • Better use of technology for communication, inside the club, between clubs and with District.

These are just discussion starters, please make comments below. This needs to be passionate but not personal. If we can get the discussion and ideas started here then we are well on the way

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new members

Posted by nezzy at Nov 26, 2008 03:36 PM
As has happened before, changing the focus to membership has already generated the possibility of two new members - Andrew Lee and Simon (yes another one!)Pilcher. Simon's Dad was a founding member of Waitara Club, and now feels 'old enough' to join.
Let's get the venue and food right, tighten up the meetings (they used to be scheduled for 1 hr 18 30 to 19 30. Chatter afterwards can take as long as each member likes, but the meeting needs to have business finished within 1 hour. This also addresses the 'time poor' factor for new members.

New members

Posted by arthurg at Nov 26, 2008 03:36 PM
To attract new members, we need a prospecting pack which gives prospects details of what Rotary stands for, and a list of things we do at Waitara, and a contacts list.
A new venue would help

Immediate Action

Posted by Simon Bryan at Nov 26, 2008 03:36 PM
I think the immediate actions we can take are:
1. Tighten the meeting to get it back to the one hour it used to be
2. Have all members pay attention the whole time instead of side conversations - I may be the worst offender here
3. Immediatley order 20 Polo shirts with Rotary branding
4. work hard to find a new venue - I woiuld be happy paying $25 if we got a decent meal and venue

I also think that the idea of moving the meeting is a non-issue. We have more clubs around us than Hornsby, we are probably closer geographically to Turramurra and Wahroonga meetings. People do have plenty of choice in this area.
As an interesting point - I could not think of anyone in the club that actually lives or works in Waitara!!