August is Membership & Extension Month. 

On Saturday (1st August) I went to an inspirational and well attended Zone 8 Membership, PR & Marketing seminar.  To explain what a zone is for our new members, our Club is part of a District and our District is one of 23 in Zone 8, which is Australia.  Zone 8 is one of 34 zones that make up Rotary International.  The Zone 8 Membership, PR & Marketing meeting was about examining the best strategies for enhancing our image and developing our membership in these times.  There were numerous ideas presented during the one-day seminar, but they all came down to a simple message.  We need to be contemporary in the things we do and say; we need to be relevant, particularly in our local community; and to develop membership and engage people, we need to show warmth and friendliness.  I think we do the latter very well at Southbank, as evidenced by the way in which we welcome new people and host the many guests who have been attending our meetings. 

I am particularly happy with the way our Membership Director, Troy Gay, is going about our Club’s ambition to attract and retain members.  We have a number people looking to join our club and are in fact, inducting two new members this month, one a new Rotarian and the other a transferring Rotarian.  Troy, along with our Charter President Richard Clark, and our Club Service Director Gordon Hastie, will be attending our District’s Marketing & Membership seminar on 15th August, and I am certain they will make a positive contribution to the seminar as well as bring back a number of new ideas. 

This coming week our guest speaker will be Past District Governor John Wigley, who will be attending with his wife Fran.  John will be talking about membership development, the importance of training future Rotary leaders, the importance of partners and friends of Rotary and how we must engage with the community around us.  We are also expecting a number of other guests on Tuesday, including past members and our District Foundation Chair Chris Don, our Ambassadorial Scholar Roland Dillon and our District’s Ambassadorial Scholar Program Coordinator David Gorman. 

This coming Thursday is our 2nd “Breakfast with the Pres” and I would like to invite you to join us at the Observatory Café in the Botanical Gardens.  I am expecting a few past members and friends of Rotary to attend as well.

I have heard from so many of our Club’s members that they are enjoying the energy that our new members and guests are bringing.  I am very proud how well our members engage potential new Rotarians and guests, acting as fantastic hosts and sharing our Rotary story.  This is so important because if we are to achieve what we need to with our projects and grow our membership, then we need to engage others, as well as open our doors so that the community truly understands what Rotary is about and the good works we do.  The more we are understood, the more likely it is we will grow and achieve greater things.  Having guests join us also serves to broaden our own thinking, maintain our innovation, and allow us to gain a greater insight to the needs in our community to remain relevant to it.

Always remember your first experience of the Rotary Club of Southbank and why you joined.  Ask yourself whether a key aspect of your decision was because of the welcome you received and the openness you experienced.  It was certainly this way for me and an experience I want to share.  I hope you do too.

Philip Archer
Club President 2009-2010

President Philip's Quote of the Week

“Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities.  Seize common occasions and make them great.”

Last Week's Meeting

(Thank you to Barbara for these wonderous scribe notes)

Meeting 493 Scribe Notes

What a fantastic meeting … we had it all!  Lots of fabulous guests; a potential nominee for the GSE Team to Spain; free (well, almost!) flights to Bali; members with worms; lots of Excessive Enjoyment Levies (or EELs for short); even a Prospective EEL (or PEEL); delicious food; attendance taken by lamplight and to top it off a stunning guest speaker … none less than the 2009 Young Victorian of the Year.  Why would you go anywhere else but the Rotary Club of Southbank on a Tuesday evening - really? 

And, if you’re not sure what is happening around the club over the next couple of weeks, just have a quick look at our stunning new “Coming Up” flyers (thanks to Narina and Gaby) which offer details of:

• 9 August – Tree planting

• 11 August – Fellowship @ Kingpin Bowling

• 16 August – District International Service Seminar

• 23-26 August – Service opportunities at The Kids Foundation ‘Camp Phoenix’

• 8 September – Special Guest Speaker:  Dr Judith Slocombe, CEO Alana & Madeleine Foundation

Our Sergeant Chris was, as usual, most adept at extracting our money in fines whilst providing some interesting insights into some of our members:  a very youthful Lyn (as always); a very healthy Diane (again, as always); our very own ‘petrol-head’ Carl; and (apparently) Stuart’s thesis on Michael Jackson – you had to be there to learn of the second lives some of these members have when away from Rotary.

Troy shared his Members Moment with us and, despite our sudden intake of breath when he confessed to having worms, we were eventually relieved to learn that they were the type that save the environment by eating cast off food scraps etc.  Very green indeed.

Our special guest speaker, 2009 Young Victorian of the Year and Executive Director of Left Right Think Tank, Thom Woodroofe shared with us his passion for involving young people in making a difference through their involvement in public policy making and in promoting youth participation in the community.  For more information on Thom and the Left Right Think Tank, please click here .

And, finally … President Philip’s ‘Thought for the Week’, which so overwhelmed this Scribe that she was unable to capture its true essence in these Scribe Notes.  Once again, you had to be there … so make sure you don’t miss next week!