Happy August Rotarians! This is the best month of the Rotary year in my opinion. Why? Because we all get the chance to change someone's life by inviting them to become a member of the best service organization in the world! Just think back to when your sponsor asked you to consider becoming a Rotarian in your club, and how excited you were to be inducted as a new member.. Now, you have that same opportunity to select someone whom you think will be an amazing Rotarian. The qualities we are looking for are: compassionate, caring, sharing, generosity of time, talent and money. These people exist out in our world, we just need to have an open mind, and a determination to find new members of any age, gender, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation...in other words, we have a BIG TENT in Rotary. You just need to have courage and a plan to ask someone to join. It's all about LEADERSHIP! Official DG visits started this morning at the Fishkill Rotary Club (my hometown), and many thanks to AG Vicki Kessler, AGA Sue Bennett, President Tristan Smith and the members present. We had a great discussion about how to GROW ROTARY in 7210, and I was happy to be in person to discuss ideas and thoughts on attraction and engagement of members. They were chartered in May 1953, and they still serving their community with gusto! Why do we need to grow? 7210 has experienced a 10 year steady decline in membership of about 300 members. We ALL need to pitch in and reverse that trend starting this year! We have a 3 year plan to GROW ROTARY and I am excited to share that plan with you all! We will discuss how to GROW ROTARY in your club in the near future, and I look forward to that day when we will meet. Until then, please watch this 5 minute video: Change someones life- Ask them to become a member of the greatest service organization in the world! ROTARY! With much Rotary love, DG Tony |