District 9212 Membership Training
August is a special month for Rotary. Being the membership month, Rotary and Rotaract clubs reflect and focus on membership growth achievements, member engagement, and most importantly, how to grow the movement by introducing and inducting new members into the various clubs.
This year, the District Governor and District 9212 Membership Team hosted a membership training on 1st August 2020 to kick-start the month. The meeting was attended by 404 members representing 3 countries: Kenya, Ethiopia, and South Sudan.
The objectives of the training were: to have knowledgeable Rotarians, to assist and educate presidents-elect on club administration, to appreciate where clubs are regarding membership and support them on the way forward, and to encourage member retention.
“Membership drives all aspects of Rotary from fellowship to projects,” District Membership Chair Dr. Joe Kamau said.The Past District Governor Peter Mbui led a panel discussion on member retention. He emphasized that clubs should have set strategies for induction and retention. The basics of bringing in new members were shared as follows: Identify, Introduce, Invite, Induct, Educate, and Engage. The importance of engaging and keeping new members close was also highlighted.
“Talk about the Rotary experience and not Rotary meetings as they are all about routine,” District Governor Patrick Obath said. He encouraged the club leaders to be proactive in engaging their members.
The guest speaker, Dr. Lukoye Atwoli shared lessons on the topic ‘Leading Members During The Pandemic’. He pointed out that empathy is part of transformational leadership hence leaders should always consider the impact of their decisions on their subordinates.
“Anybody in a leadership position can be a transformative leader but can be better with empathy. Dr. Lukoye said.“It is important for organizations to put themselves in the shoes of the people they are leading; see the world from their perspective, understand their feelings, accept and communicate to them non-judgmentally,” he added.
To date, Rotary has a membership of about 1.2 million Rotarians and Rotaractors worldwide and it is aiming to increase this number by 50% per club.It is the duty of every Rotarian and Rotaract member to introduce guests and share the mission and vision of Rotary with the aim to grow the number of people who are ready to serve and contribute to making the world a better place.
In the words of Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Therefore, if you are yet to join the Rotary family, visit the club nearest to you and become an agent of positive change in the world.
