A MAN’S REACH SHOULD EXCEED HIS GRASP

Numbers speak for themselves. Nobody dares to go count the teeth of an old roaring lion; what keeps us away is the sound of the roar. Since time immemorial, people have been easily persuaded by masses. What has brought down the worst dynasties is masses what has built up the strongest kingdoms is masses. Over time, many laws have come in place to accommodate the masses. The bigger the mass the louder the roar, essentially, it is all a game of numbers.

Membership has stagnated. We have been attracting new members but the effect has not been felt. This is because, at the end of it all, the new members are just replacing or filling the gaps of the members leaving.

From where we stand today, we have every system and policy that can enable us double our numbers. Rotary is the center of excellence but we have been taking in so little and leaving a lot of resources unexploited. The question is, “are we doing enough?” How loud and proud are we with regards to our club membership? How often do we associate ourselves with Rotary Brands or do we wait until we are in Rotary meetings and events? Do we extend invitations to everyone with integrity or only a few people who seem appealing and are of a certain social status?

It is true that we are better in numbers, but then there is always the question of quantity versus quality. These two factors should not be separated when it comes to membership. 95% of all Rotarian’s walked into their first Rotary meetings or Rotarian’s are said to be wealthy people. Amen to that! However, we are aware of our own challenges. Let us introduce the world to Rotary, let us involve people, let us inform and orient prospective members and, lastly, let us induct and expose new members. We can only measure the quality of our membership and the positive impacts we have in the society over time. Once upon a time, only a medical practitioner was allowed to administer the polio vaccine but, were it not for training of volunteers, we would still be in the dark ages. Now, that’s quality developed over time and it would not have been achieved in the absence of the numbers – quantity. It’s only when we assign someone a responsibility that we are able to assess the value of such a person and determine their quality.

“The first emphasis is to grow Rotary — to grow our service, to grow the impact of our projects, but most importantly, to grow our membership so that we can achieve more,” R.I. President Mark Daniel Maloney.

While we always want the best, this is the genesis of all problems. When serving Coffee, the cup itself does not add any quality to the Coffee. Most times, it is even more expensive and sometimes hides what we drink. By focusing only on the cup, we fail to bring best out of people. The type of cup used to serve does not define or change the quality of Coffee. We are the cups! The world needs us to embrace each other and give an opportunity to everyone to serve the COFFEE.

Rotary Connects!