Frank Perez welcomed everyone to the second hybrid meeting of the Centerville Rotary Club.

 

President Frank also welcomed those Rotarians joining the meeting via Zoom and our in-person guests, District Governor Greg Birkemeyer, and Assistant Governor, Mary Nenninger.

 

 

 

Frank Perez led the Pledge of Allegiance and Harvey Smith led us in a prayer.

 

Harvey Smith then asked Ray Merz to the front of the room where he presented him with a Paul Harris Fellow +6 pin. Thank you for your generous support of the Rotary Foundation, Ray!

 

 

President Frank Perez shared these updates:

 

 

 

 

Our Happy Dollars for this quarter are going to Project Warm – please be generous with your Happy Dollars for this good cause. You can send your check to the club mailbox:  Centerville Rotary Club, PO Box 41431, Centerville, OH 45458.

 

Boyd Preston served as Sergeant at arms again this week.

 

Boyd reported a total of $240 was donated in Happy Bucks today.

 

 

 

 

Greg gave an introduction of his Rotary history, including being a member of the Dayton Club, past president, past Assistant Governor, and then working his way up to District Governor. He recognized Past District Governors in our club - Sivaji Subramaniam and Harvey Smith.

 

Greg noted some Rotary clubs in our district are having hybrid meetings like ours, some just virtual, and some not meeting at all. COVID has made us all rethink how we operate our clubs. Some people who are not able to attend in-person have now been able to attend virtual meetings.

 

For Greg, Rotary has been most meaningful because of the friendships and fellowship he experiences. When he first joined Rotary, a speaker’s topic was the exact family issue he was experiencing. He was able to share his personal story with the club, and their support was overwhelming and continues to this day.

 

Greg talked about the important role Rotary plays in the world, and noted our Club is very involved in all of these:

Our club is one of the top 5 clubs in the district, strong in many areas of Rotary. But there are always ways we can be better. Greg noted Rotary 6670 membership was 3,300 five years ago, and now we’re at 2,700 and we’ve lost 4 clubs. 217 individuals joined and then quit Rotary within the first year (in the last 10 years in our district.) It is so important to engage new members right away.

 

Are you greatly interested in Rotary? If so, then be sure to tell others. Many quit when they can’t afford the cost to be a Rotarian. Should we be looking for ways to change our dues structure to make it more attractive for younger members? If members value their Rotary membership, they will find a way to pay for it. We need to make sure we are giving them value for their money.

 

RI President, Holger Knaack sends these challenges to every club:

 

Greg mentioned the Dayton Rotary Club brings the newbies together during their first year, meeting as a small group every month, and then do a “takeover” of the club, with a President for the day, etc. It gets them involved immediately and lets them know all about the Rotary club dynamics.

 

Greg encouraged everyone to ask others to become a part of Rotary and then ask members to help where needed - most won’t say “no”.

 

There was a question about how to make sure your donation does to Polio Plus, and not just the Rotary Foundation. The Club fills out a form that goes to RI with your donation, so use the memo on your check or attach a note to the check to tell your club where you want the donation to go (and you can split it up.)

 

Frank led the group in reciting the 4-Way Test and closed the meeting noting for everyone to have a great week, stay safe and healthy!