I am going out on a limb here but the weekly meeting is a great place to get a few ideas bouncing around and this week was no exception. While we have been trapped in our Zoom bubble, our member attendance has not been encouraging. It is hard to move forward without the whole club backing itself to come out of COVID ready to engage the community. I have had many conversations with members who want to get going, but we have a lot of talking and not a lot of doing. The idea that you drop an idea on the table and by some magic it comes to fruition is a myth. If an idea inspires you, own it and do it!As an example, last year, I saw an opportunity to help BlazeAid. With a bit of help from Isobel. Cheryl, Maureen and District 7475 (New Jersey, USA), owned it and did it. Global Grants for COVID owned it and did it. Multi-District Conference registrations owned it and did it. District website owned it and did it. DIK pickups with DIK Rep Roger Thornton owned it and did it. Club IT, owned it doing it. Being President, owning and having a go at doing it. You get the idea. If you have an idea, own it and do it.
The Board cannot approve a project with no leader who will carry the project to completion. An idea is only an idea until someone has enough drive to turn it into reality. If I can turn a few projects into reality, anyone can do the same. Speaking for myself, if I have a great idea and I have time available, the right connections and a green light, it is happening! Rotary creates opportunities if you want to own it and do it!
Over the last few years there have been plenty of members dropping ideas saying "we should do that". With most of them, I would agree, we should certainly be doing a lot more than we do, but these projects are the proposer's projects and should be lead and delivered by the proposer using the help of the respective Director and members that want to be involved. To be a vibrant, active club, we need to realise that we are all responsible for action in our community and need to show leadership. Rotary is a far-reaching organisation, so our reach to do some incredible work is way beyond just the members in our Club. We can do just about anything if we really want to put in the effort.
So let's take a walk back in time for the newer members to understand what is happening. Back in 2003, the Rotary Club of Berwick was young, vibrant and had an appetite to do great things. Most members were in their 40's and 50's and couldn’t get enough. Senior members, Ray Martin and Peter Binning ensured the Club knew about Rotary and there was a strong program of Rotary information which was welcomed and embraced by many. Training at District level was of great quality and delivered with enthusiasm, with a huge uptake across the District. And then it changed! As our membership aged, we became a fundraising club and began to do less project work. Rotary training and mentorship slipped away as a focus of our club. Without Rotary training and learning about the strength Rotary has in many areas including the 7 areas of focus, we have come to a crossroad.
I have a good appreciation of what Rotary can do through my Rotary contacts outside the club and in different parts of the world. I would love for every member of MY club to have stories of how Rotary made a difference to prove that our organisation actually matters and every member of our club is serious about making a difference. Let's get off the wall and get back into action!