We are now at the pointy end of establishing a Satellite Club within the Rotary Club of Berwick. The RCB Board is recommending to the members that the Satellite Club of Berwick, Officer be accepted. Not all Club members will be happy with this recommendation, so now is an excellent opportunity to explain a bit more of the strategy behind this step.
When I started my journey towards Club Presidency, I had much thinking to do. Our Club was not functioning well, engagement was low, and we had just lost ten members. Some will jump up and say, well, not much has changed. I would say a lot has changed.
We all know that Rotary and many other organisations stuck in a traditionally styled rut, are going backwards and must find a way out of that rut to transform and regrow. We must address three broad areas to progress. They are Club culture, repositioning our focus and creating new sources of growth. We cannot continue doing more of the same!
As the President, I know what I need to do, but I have to tell you in small pieces; otherwise, most won't read it. (How are we doing so far, do I still have you?)
We must have an emotionally detached overview of what the Club needs to develop to survive in a changing world. If you have been paying attention, you will know it already. An active, vibrant Club willing to take on new challenges, ideas and members to increase our capabilities and better serve our community.
Our Club should be positioned to engage, join and interact with surrounding Clubs and organisations (like the Cubs, sponsors, charities, businesses and schools) and be exposed to the public to build our profile and respect in the community. The Rotary brand must be showing outwards as a sign that we are proud of our Club and proud of being Rotarians.
Through our journey of change this year, I can see that around 14 members (the constantly missing members) are not feeling the vibe. I also know that some members are actively against transformation, and there are even a couple who don't believe we can do any transformation at all. I have been very fortunate to be able to talk with most members over dinner at the Club. Our weekly meetings have been very productive with the exchange of views, strategy, progress reports, and ideas. I can feel we are moving in the right direction and we are gaining strength. We may not convince those 14 missing members, as it is pretty hard to do if they don't want to show up.
So, getting back to the Satellite Club. Why do I support the recommendation? The Satellite Club will be a catalyst to changing Club culture, repositioning our focus and creating new sources of growth. It will give us an opportunity to offer a wider range of club experiences to members, while keeping some of the traditional values we have on "The Mother Ship". We are one, but we are not the same.
It is up to us all to embrace a new challenge, experience growth and adapt to a changing world for our Club to prosper into the future.
Thanks for reading. If you haven't accepted the Satellite Club or want to tell me that I'm an idiot, you can do that here: https://form.jotform.com/djbutton/satellite-club-of-berwick-officer