We have changed our meeting structure slightly such that one meeting each month would be devoted to club business and activities. The intent is to ensure that our club is updated on all work being done by our members behind the scenes. So much is done between club meetings! Thanks to the creative mind of Don Dempson, we've dubbed this special meeting as N3 (Nanaimo North Night.)
After an in-depth discussion a couple of weeks ago, it was agreed that we would relocate our breakfast to the Salvation Army, New Hope Centre. The facility is much larger: plus we would have excellent support from the Salvation Army Staff. Jeff and Ed will continue to advise us thru the November 14 breakfast but will step away after that and thus facilitate a new leadership team. We sincerely thank Jeff and Ed for their commitment and dedication. Thanks to their tremendous effort and the wonderful support of our members, this project has become an integral part of the life and work of Nanaimo North. A request for members to take on leadership roles was circulated and thus far a number of folk have stepped forward:
Food Ordering and Coordination:
Jim Turley, Greg Phillips, and Ian Thorpe
Volunteer Coordination and Shift Scheduling:
Rob Waine, Lee Mason, and Suzanne Benoit
Site Supervision and Coordination:
Suzanne Benoit
You will note that Suzanne, our infamous "Water Witch" will now be handling site coordination, so we'll need someone to take over dishwashing. If you might be interested, please let Jim or Lee know. Also, there are opportunities in the other areas as well. If we have 3-4 members in eash section, the work load will be spread out a bit more. So please think about it.
1 meeting/month away. These meetings could be around community service or other activity including tours of various worksites.
1 meeting/month devoted to Club business - Service/Project updates.
If there is a 5th meeting, it could be a spousal night. Perhaps with something special on the agenda.
Members were invited to think about service projects we could undertake as well as site tours we might be able to arrange.
Our Christmas party was discussed and members were invited to consider suitable locations and get back to Barb or Audrey. (We usually have about 40 people and the maximum amount we could spend would be $40 each.)
As we are approaching the time to get rolling with our 50/50 project, Ed led a related discussion and it was agreed that unless there were objections, we would undertake the project again this year. Ed also discussed popcorn "sales". Currently, the machine lives at his house and he organizes the various popcorn events. However, he asked members to consider any opportunities that they might become aware of and suggested that folks ight want to take on one or two events themselves. It raises a nice amount of unrestricted funds - plus it's a lot of fun. (We raised $300 at the Symphony.)
Doug gave a report about the Foundation Seminar he attended recently and highlighted the various grants that are available. It is interesting to note that grants are available for local service as well as international service.
Larry attended the membership seminar and gave an overview of some of the things discussed:
Stereotype of Rotarians is pale, male, and stale.
only 10% of Rotarians worldwide are under age 40.
Rotary has an outdated, uninviting image and outdated branding.
Diversity of clubs should match community
Some relatively new concepts were presented:
Consider couples as one member
Offer corporate memberships
Partner on projects with young professionals to build the relationship
Have a blog
Invite non-Rotarians to take part in projects
Consider billing monthly for all meals and dues regardless of whether or not you attend
Share responsibility of bringing guest speakers
Offer mentorship coupled with fireside chats
Recruit members from the trades
Larry reminded us that we are all ex-officio members of the membership committee. It is our club. We have the network into the community. To grow, we need to invite someone into the club.
He also talked about a provisional club in Victoria that is comprised of young professionals who gather in a restaurant and move from one service activity to another. Also, they bring their kids to these quasi meeting. Now, how's that for innovation!
Don talked about the creative ways he's introducing to get our name into the community including some ways to work with Shaw. He has done a couple of articles already and is planning on doing a piece about the Community Breakfast when the time is right. There are a number of new social media applications that he's looking into as well.
Paul updated us on the Youth Exchange program. The 5 Clubs plan on sponsoring 2 young people this year at a total cost of $14,000 which hopefully will be shared among the clubs.
Next Week: Vocational Presentation by Roger Northwood
