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"So who is leading membership in your club?  Well..............."

"Without membership we can do nothing".  Well that's the challenge.  It must be fairly self-evident that clubs need members in order to keep giving service to their local communities and to the international community.

So if membership is so fundamental, how high up the list of priorities is your club placing it?  Is there a report on membership to club council each time it meets?  When you have a business meeting is there a report on membership or is it buried in something else?  What events is your club intending to run in the next three months in order to gain new members?  Who is responsible for leadership in matters relating to membership in your club?

In many clubs leadership for membership is notionally with some form of Club Service committee, probably led by the President Elect.  But at the same time the President Elect has a thousand and one other jobs to accomplish.  How much time, realistically can they be expected to devote to the membership challenge?  

A growing number of clubs appoint one member (or a small group) to have special responsibility for membership.   That is their focus for the whole year and I shall be happy to support them in every way possible.   Such a strategy will really help to place membership at the top of the agenda.  And it's not too late for this year.  Even though all the club committees are in place and running, would it be too difficult to find one member to take special responsibility for membership and spearhead the club's activity in that area?

The membership specialist in a club is likely to have a dual role.   Finding ways to attract new members is vital.  Retaining current members though is of equal importance and monitoring the mood of the current membership will help.   Who is the most likely member to leave?  Who is feeling fed up with Rotary?  Who doesn't feel that they have a role to play within your club?  If you can discover that, might it be possible to motivate the wavering member before it is too late?

Last year a representative from each club was handed a copy of 'Ideas for Action'.   Who picked it up for your club?  Perhaps they took it home and read it.  Perhaps they shared some of the ideas with the club.  Perhaps they passed the pack on to someone else.  Dare I suggest that perhaps they took it home and lost it?  Where is your club's copy of 'Ideas for Action' now?  How much use has your club made of it?  How much use is your club making of it?  The pack is full of ideas borrowed from places where they have worked for clubs and it took six months to produce.   We'd like to add to the information already in the pack.  We know you want more information on mentoring because you have told us so but what else would you like?

Please appoint a member of your club to have special responsibility for membership and then tell me who it is.

Roger Green,

Membership Chairman for 1080.