By Sean Anzai
The challenge we face is a common one to the Rotary Clubs worldwide; membership retention. It is quite clear that one would resign from the club due to lack of time and/or interest. There isn’t much we can do for the time factor but we can perhaps address the interest part. For me, it is the fellowship of the Rotary that I remained a member in Malaysia and in Australia for the past 15 years. Along the way, there were club & district projects which were also rewarding but my main joy of being a Rotarian came from the fellowship; the Club Service which is the 1st of the traditional rotary service avenues of the four.(others being the Vocational, Community and International.)
The success of Rotary Clubs, I believe, was due to the balance of the fellowship and projects. If you are passionate about a particular cause or charity there are many associations other than Rotary to do your part in the society. Rotary is where we can participate some community project while enjoying the friendship with the club members and others in the district and beyond. Otherwise there is no point in staying in Rotary unless you have some project that you are working on in the Rotary framework. This is where we lose members as they do not see the value in being part of the club.
The club’s challenge is to produce and maintain such values to members. The meeting with some interesting speakers,occasional meets ups, opportunity to participate in some rewarding projects as well as the website, SMS, bulletin to keep members in the loop.☺