Dear Henry
 

First up, congratulations on becoming President of your club.  It is a fine thing to be so regarded by one’s peers.  I have tried to lay out some fundamental points for you.

1.  Promote Fellowship.   Rotary is based on two things; Fellowship and Service.  Without Fellowship there can be no Service.  Fellowship can be improved by social gatherings of members outside the regular club meetings by such things as Fellowship week-ends at some nearby tourist spot, picnics and the like, Ladies’ Nights and including wives/partners in planning social events.

2.  Ensure that your BOD and committees are actively engaged in their allotted tasks.  A number of small projects throughout the year will assist in this as well as any one or two major projects.   Delegate whenever possible, but keep an overview of what is happening.  When a member is given a task he is likely to feel more involved and an involved member is a happy member.

3.  The Sergeant at Arms is your key man at meetings.   He should ensure that people front up for their allotted duties, the regalia is in place, that the meeting is run to time and that people do not sit in the same place at table week after week.  If you run a fines session, this should be humourous and never hurtful to any member.

4.  The Bulletin Editor has a very important task.  First he is progressively compiling the history of the club, second, he is informing members on club and general Rotary matters.  The weekly bulletin should not just be a repeat of the Guest Speaker as the members have already heard that.  He should notify members of BOD decisions taken.

5.  Try and plan your meetings one week in advance with a written agenda.

6.   Membership: getting new members is always a problem these days and mostly asking members to look for a new member is fruitless.  Try setting up your members in groups of five and giving each group one month to find a new prospect.  Somewhere I have a very successful method filed away and I will try and dig it out to send to you later.  

7.   Each president brings his own personality and management to a club for just one year.   If you can, bring your IPP, your PE and PEN  together and work out a three year plan that will give the club some continuity in planning.

8.  Communication is important.  Keep your members fully informed at all times whenever it is practical to do so.  Try and ensure that all officers and committee chairmen attend District functions such as PETS, SETS and District Assemblies by making that a condition of them taking office.

I hope that this is helpful to you.

norm