President Tom opened the meeting and was warmly welcomed back from his sickbed. He, in turn, welcomed PP Bob Cartwright back from his trip to the USA and noted that he had come back with a distinguished Santa Claus-like beard. A series of announcement followed:
  • Jenny May asked for donations of either a prize for a raffle or something suitable to be put in a Hamper as a fund raiser at the Rotary Fair.
  • Ann Smith reported on the successful meeting she and Lindsay had with Craig Wrightson, CEO of Lane Cove Council. The outcome was that the Council would bear the cost of the traffic controllers for the Fair, allow a barbecue and in future allow food stalls to come back and be a part of the Fair. Tania estimated that these concessions would result in an estimated $17,125 profit from the Fair. Ann indicated volunteers were desperately needed for the whole day. Ann, Lindsay, Tania, James and Harry marked out the stalls on Sunday but the final layout will occur on the Thursday 9th October before the Fair at a meeting in the Plaza with the Council.
  • Lindsay reported on the quest looking for a self-contained barbecue trailer which could be used for the barbecue at the Fair.
  • Chris called for the loan of a display board for photos of the Club’s activities to be used for public relations purposes at the Fair. Several suggestions were made and would need to be followed-up.
  • Ron Tweedie reported on the outstanding RYLA student nominee who was interviewed earlier that evening. The applicant was a medical student after being dux at his school and there is no doubt he would be a wonderful Rylarian if selected by District.
  • Phil Wade provided a brief report on the enjoyable Blackman Park working bee on Sunday 28th September attended by Adrienne (who provided a much appreciated morning tea), Phil Wade, Phil Dudgeon, Martin, Lindsay, Tania, James, Chris and Dick Dawes. The fact that the sign recognising Rotary’s planting of 100 trees was small and hard to find was duly noted especially when contrasted with the large sign Amnesty had in commemorating the planting of only 7 trees.
  • Ann then reported the excitement at her work of having to perform CPR on her boss and indicated we should all have a refresher course in resuscitation.
  • Tania reported on the District’s wish to have all Rotarians certified to work with children and outlined the process which included an on-line application (google “working with children”) followed by a visit to the RTA for proof of identity. The need to have a complete given and family name in the proof of identity was emphasised. The certification is free for volunteers and provides the applicant with a unique number which would need renewal in 5 years.
  • Tania then boasted her daughter had finally become engaged and Bob Cartwright boasted on his eldest daughter’s wedding in the USA. John Palmer reported on his visit to Munich in time for Oktoberfest. He reported sadly that his limit had reduced to 6 litres of beer in the one sitting but that this was still sufficient for him to have a good sleep on the way home.
  • Sergeant Ian then extracted a series of fines for a variety of reasons, some true but most not.
 
The main part of the meeting was devoted to exploring ways of revitalising the Club. Lindsay presented a series of slides on the essence of Rotary, membership, membership retention and the ethos of Rotary (including acquaintance, friendship, high ethics, fellowship, goodwill, peace and international understanding). He spoke of the need for the Classification system of vocations (max of 5 of any one classification in a club) to promote diversity of membership. He emphasised the need to return to the system wherein the incoming Board had met many times before the start of the Rotary year and had all its projects and budgets worked out for a flying start to the year. He suggested that instead of a “3 on me” club members would describe their vocations and experiences in more detail as the main speaker and this suggestion was met with uniform support.  Members should become more active in meeting, greeting and engaging in greater communication and fellowship at the club meetings. He indicated that the club should understand better why members would leave by holding an exit interview and having a more formal measure of member retention rates.
 
While Lindsay was presenting his slides and delivering his outstanding suggestions for revitalising the club and increasing membership, Margaret was writing all the suggestions on a white board. The whole club entered into the spirit of the evening and by the end of the meeting the whiteboard was full of suggestions on how to move forward.
 
Following Lindsay’s presentation, there was general discussion. Chris emphasised the need for an exit interview and spoke of the need to attract younger members. Dick Dawes spoke of young people responding to a cause rather than a long-term commitment. President Tom spoke of the fireside meetings prior to a member joining and how this helped prospective members decide whether Rotary was right for them. Bob Cartwright spoke of the need for effective mentorship and the need for a club welfare officer. John Cronly spoke of the need to re-introduce fun and enjoyment back into Rotary meetings. Lindsay and others spoke of the need to have interesting speakers and suggestions included John Overton, Peter Overton, John Howard and Ken Done. Jenny May called for greater support of partner’s nights and Ann suggested having more interesting dinners such as the recent Nepalese restaurant dinner meeting. Ann also spoke of the need to support the president more actively as had happened in the past. Ian Jagelman spoke of the natural attrition rate of 10-15% per year in all volunteer organisations and the need to devote at least 50% of the club’s energies to membership renewal and retention. Chris wondered whether the advanced age of the membership was a disincentive for new members but Tania spoke with passion that age was not a factor (and neither was gender, colour or creed). Dick Dawes called for greater inclusion of partners in the functioning of the club and Dick White posed the question about whether the club’s format of its meetings might be seen to be too old-fashioned.
 
All in all it was a spirited discussion and Lindsay was warmly thanked for leading the club through this review.
 
The meeting was attended by 21 members. The raffle was won by Dick White who presented the bottle of wine to Lindsay.