
Yours in Rotary!!!
DG 5610 John Schneider
Membership Minute Focusing on the comfort and care of our members |
August is Membership and New Club Development Month. One of RI President Jennifer Jones' initiatives is to focus on the comfort and care of our members, and Membership Month is the perfect time to make sure that your club provides a welcoming experience. Members are more likely to stay if we listen to them and understand what they want out of Rotary. Here are a few ideas for helping people feel valued and involved:
Remember that for any Learning Center course, you’ll need a My Rotary account. Find more membership resources on My Rotary. Questions? Reach out to Carmen Hansen, District 5610 Membership Chair, carmenhansen@rushmore.com |
Rotary International President Jennifer Jones imagines a Rotary where members act to make their dreams become reality and make the most of their club experiences. During her year, Jones will focus on four presidential initiatives that Imagine Rotary: advancing our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI); creating a welcoming club experience; empowering girls; and expanding our reach.
Diversity is one of Rotary's longstanding core values and greatest strengths. Jones knows there is more to be done to ensure that Rotary's culture exemplifies our values of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Rotary, with input and guidance from the DEI Task Force, has strengthened our commitment to DEI, resulting in a greater focus on celebrating every individual's contributions, advancing equity, and creating a more welcoming and inclusive culture.
President Jennifer Jones encourages each of us to do our part to ensure Rotary is a welcoming and inclusive community by:
Learn more and take action by reading the DEI presidential brochure.
Find additional resources on our DEI web page.
Watch what Jones hopes to accomplish with DEI (download).
Rotary has an important role to play to ensure that the club environment and experience is welcoming, inclusive, and enjoyable for all members and participants. Surveys show that comfort and care is the single greatest driver of satisfaction and our most powerful tool for retention. This begins with listening to and understanding what members and participants want out of their Rotary involvement. We often speak of the importance of "exit interviews" to better understand why former members leave. But why wait for them to leave? Jones urges club leaders to incorporate "entrance interviews" as well to understand the needs and expectations of new members at the outset. And of course, be sure to regularly survey all existing members, to ensure they have an opportunity to share thoughts about their membership experience.
Watch Jones talk about her Comfort and Care initiative (download)
Jones will continue past RI President Shekhar Mehta’s Girls Empowerment initiative, recognizing that empowered girls become empowered women. Share your Girls Empowerment projects on Showcase.
Imagine Expanding Rotary's Reach Throughout the year, Jones will visit eight service projects that represent each of Rotary's areas of focus and polio eradication. The tour will provide examples of how Rotary can make a measurable difference, while introducing Rotary to new audiences and potential partners and influencers.
Don Norton enjoys transforming communities and improving people’s lives through Rotary. He has just completed his second term as President of the Rotary Club of Brookings, South Dakota, where he is a multiple Paul Harris Fellow. He serves as the Grants Chair in District 5610. He has been a Rotarian for 26 years.
Don also helps build the leadership capacity of communities across the state as CEO of the South Dakota Agricultural and Rural Leadership Program (SDARL), focusing on developing the skills, knowledge, and character of leaders through training seminars.
Don’s background is in education and communication. He taught more than 20 communication courses at the college and university level, and has received four Associated Press News Awards for broadcast journalism, including as a news anchor/reporter at WGN Radio in Chicago. He has a Master of Arts Degree in Communication from Western Illinois University, and is certified in Non-Profit Management from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. He is a Maxwell Leadership certified trainer, speaker and coach.
Prior to joining SDARL, Don directed the leadership programming and served as CEO of the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Program. He has led leadership classes to China, India, Japan, Panama, Germany, Poland, Ireland, Scotland, and held leadership seminar meetings in Russia and Ukraine.
Don and his wife, Kay (the District 5610 Public Image Chair), have two grown sons. They enjoy singing special programs at retirement and nursing homes, and carry on a Brookings tradition with the Hopeful Spirit Chorale, a group that lifts up the spirts of the homebound and those in hospice.
Tahiry Razafimanjato has been presented Rotarian of the Quarter for his dedication to Rotary and District 5610. Tahiry started Sturgis Rotaract Club, and is past president of Northern Black Hills Rotary Club, and a member of the District Membership Committee. Tahiry joined Rotary in 2015 at Northern Black Hills Rotary. Rotary was not something new for him. He grew up in a Rotarian environment in Madagascar; his dad is a long time Rotarian. Her sister and brother are also all Rotarians. For Tahiry, Rotary means more than a service. He considers Rotary as a way of life.
The District Governor Award for Rotarian of the Quarter was presented to Tahiry Razafimanjato he is a Rotarian who has gone above and beyond and has proven to be extraordinary in his service above self. This was a new award in Rotary Year 2021-22 that served to honor one individual each quarter who has exhibited these attributes. Congratulations Tahiry!