President's Report ~ 5/31/19

How do you make a BIG Club feel smaller?  That is a question that Bob Shaff, Margaret Higgins and I have wrestled with this year.  Having good meetings is critical to maximizing our member experience…but there is limited time for fellowship at our meetings and it is difficult to really get to know each other, especially for new members.

 

Mixers are important…and we have tried to make them both fun and well attended…and the Car Show is critical…it is our single best opportunity to get members engaged and working together.

 

But after thinking about it, and working on it, it turns out some of the small things are really important.  With 256 members how do members that have been with us for many years get to know new members?  How many of you have looked across the table…or walked into a meeting and thought…is that a guest or a new member that I have not met?

 

I am amazed at how welcoming our Club is and the reception that guests and visiting Rotarians get at our meetings.  The Board, Dorinna and Kari, as well as our New Member Ambassadors hear this on a regular basis...but back to that new member you did not recognize…did you go up to them to say hello?  If you see their Red badge would you go to “High Profiles” look them up and feel more comfortable saying hello at the next meeting?  There is nothing more important than each of us making the effort to get to know each other…it is both the bond that unites us and one of the strongest reasons for us to be Rotarians.

 

From the podium I try to impart small links that create a “connection” in a member’s minds by using…”something you might not know about” for our Birthday members.  I think it is a good technique, but the challenge is I can only do that for 2-3 members a week, I can’t announce everyone…and what happens if you missed that meeting?

 

To take that technique to a bigger stage, Bob Shaff has been working hard on our “High Profile” I mentioned to you in my letter last month.  We are up to 30% of members with a completed profile…but we need more.  Please take the 10 minutes to fill out your form online in ClubRunner…it holds the power to let members that don’t know you…get to know something about you that they will remember.

 

For new members we are trying something different.  We have split the membership this year into two teams, the Blue Team and the Gold Team.  The Blue Team includes new members that joined from 7/1/18 – 12/31/18 and the Gold Team has members from the second half of the year from 1/1/19 – 6/30/19.  The Mentoring committee will be working with these teams to schedule a work project, a replacement meeting social event and a way to work together at the Car Show to build camaraderie among our newest members.  It is a new approach that we believe will help newer members connect with the Club quicker.

 

All of these initiatives work together to help our BIG Club seem smaller.  I firmly believe that the work we do and the time we spend together on projects, at the Car Show, in Fellowships, at Mixers, at Home Hospitality and in Committees creates the culture that allows our “Remarkable Rotary Club to do Truly Remarkable Things!”  I would like to thank all of you for all the things you do that enable us as a Club to contribute to making Tucson a better place to live.

 

YIR,

Chuck Sawyer
President 2018-2019
Rotary Club of Tucson

 

P.S. Please plan to attend our last meeting of the year at the DoubleTree on June 19th.  We have scheduled a Club Assembly, the first in several years.  We will review the goals that we set out for the year, the things that we have accomplished and recognize the good work of our board and committee leaders.

Most importantly we will be conducting a brief in-meeting survey that will provide your feedback about what our Club is doing well and where we need to improve to maximize the value of your membership.  Bob Logan will use this information to help shape his goals for the upcoming year…which by the way promises to be a great, fun year with terrific programs…many of which have already been booked!