Last Week's Meeting
Michelle Charles, District 6650 governor, returned once again to RCY, but this time it was for her “official” club visit. Even though she has only been district governor since July 1, she is already halfway through visiting all 46 clubs in our district. This is even more impressive when Michelle stated that her road to district governor was accomplished completely on Zoom.
Michelle reminded us that when our club is planning projects this year to remember Rotary International President Jennifer Jones’ initiatives, and take action to:
Imagine DEI: Expand Our Reach: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Imagine a Welcoming Club Experience: Comfort and Care
Imagine Impact: Expanding Rotary’s Reach
Empower Girls
Michelle is very focused on member retention, and hopes to accomplish that goal by ensuring our clubs are welcoming, inclusive, and enjoyable to attend. District 6650 has had a positive growth in membership, netting two new members. While that may not sound like much, we are the only district in Ohio that showed a positive gain. RCY bested that mark, showing a 21% net increase in members!
Unfortunately, new members on average leave their clubs within two years. Michelle feels the way to retain members is to engage them and listen to their concerns. A DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) committee has been formed to help make Rotary meetings a safe space where we can all celebrate and respect our differences. Our own Samantha Turner chairs that committee, so if you want to be a part, let her know.
Michelle reminded us of the Rotary Action Plan, conceived in 2018 to help us become more effective in everything we do and more effective in telling our stories. The plan’s priorities are to:
Increase our impact
Expand our reach
Enhance participant Engagement
Increase our ability to adapt
Rotarians are truly people of action, and there is a lot going on in our district to attest to that. Seven clubs are hosting eight inbound exchange students, and RYLA is back, as is the Four-Way Speech contest. Clubs have sponsored 128 projects through Rotary International grants, made possible through the generous donations of Rotarians. Michelle asks for 100% participation in giving to the Rotary Foundation, with a goal of $235,000. Don’t forget, half of this funding comes back to the clubs in the form of grants.
Polio eradication continues to need funding, and Michelle challenged us to help reach the goal of $25,000 for this effort. While the wild poliovirus is 99% contained in the world, there were still eight cases, one in Afghanistan and seven in Pakistan. Frighteningly, the virus was discovered in wastewater in New York City, and one individual, who is unvaccinated, contracted the disease. It’s apparent that we have much more work to do. But Imagine – a world in which we get up each day and strive to do our best!
Imagine DEI: Expand Our Reach: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Imagine a Welcoming Club Experience: Comfort and Care
Imagine Impact: Expanding Rotary’s Reach
Empower Girls
Michelle is very focused on member retention, and hopes to accomplish that goal by ensuring our clubs are welcoming, inclusive, and enjoyable to attend. District 6650 has had a positive growth in membership, netting two new members. While that may not sound like much, we are the only district in Ohio that showed a positive gain. RCY bested that mark, showing a 21% net increase in members!
Unfortunately, new members on average leave their clubs within two years. Michelle feels the way to retain members is to engage them and listen to their concerns. A DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) committee has been formed to help make Rotary meetings a safe space where we can all celebrate and respect our differences. Our own Samantha Turner chairs that committee, so if you want to be a part, let her know.
Michelle reminded us of the Rotary Action Plan, conceived in 2018 to help us become more effective in everything we do and more effective in telling our stories. The plan’s priorities are to:
Increase our impact
Expand our reach
Enhance participant Engagement
Increase our ability to adapt
Rotarians are truly people of action, and there is a lot going on in our district to attest to that. Seven clubs are hosting eight inbound exchange students, and RYLA is back, as is the Four-Way Speech contest. Clubs have sponsored 128 projects through Rotary International grants, made possible through the generous donations of Rotarians. Michelle asks for 100% participation in giving to the Rotary Foundation, with a goal of $235,000. Don’t forget, half of this funding comes back to the clubs in the form of grants.
Polio eradication continues to need funding, and Michelle challenged us to help reach the goal of $25,000 for this effort. While the wild poliovirus is 99% contained in the world, there were still eight cases, one in Afghanistan and seven in Pakistan. Frighteningly, the virus was discovered in wastewater in New York City, and one individual, who is unvaccinated, contracted the disease. It’s apparent that we have much more work to do. But Imagine – a world in which we get up each day and strive to do our best!
