Thanks to everyone who participated in Tuesday's meeting. In total, 39 members participated in the meeting, either in person at the Rodeo Grounds or via Zoom. We also had 2 guests, one in person and one via Zoom! The overall feedback was that everyone felt good about meeting at the Rodeo Grounds so we will likely have more meetings there later in the summer.
Thank you to Angi Wood for providing our Thought for the Day!
Happy birthday to the following members - Cam Boyd (7/12), Melissa Gibson (7/18), Tiffany Leeson (7/19), Jeremy Behling (7/24), Mark Fitzgerald (7/24), Steve Hitchcock (7/27) and Kerry Shea (7/30)
Happy Rotary Anniversary to Melissa Gibson (3 years), Filip Boelen (3 years) and Hazel Hoff (2 years)!
John Weibel is preparing for his Moonhill Dairy Farm to Table Dinner on August 1st, beginning at 5PM. There are only 30 spots left and they are filling up quickly. Please email me if you would like to reserve tickets to the dinner. Ange will add the tickets to your bill. Tickets are $150 each and John is generously donating all proceeds from the dinner to Rotary.
With about 30 people at the Rodeo Grounds, there was lots of good news participation. Good news raised $565!
The program for Tuesday was the 2020/2021 board of directors update. Below is the speech.\
2020-2021 BOD Retreat Update
First, let’s start out with recognizing the 20/21 Rotary Club of Steamboat Springs Board of Directors - if you are here please stand and give a wave.
Mark Fitzgerald - President Elect
Karl Gills - Treasurer
Holly Rogers - Secretary
Randy Rudasics - Past President
Karen Schneider
Tara Weaver
Loretta Conway
Joanna Allison
Brett Allison
Kris Hammond
Ashley Kane
Stacie Fain
Thanks to the entire board of directors for taking on their extra responsibilities this year!
3 things we want to convey today as the focus of this year (and years going forward) are
- Membership engagement
- Inclusivity
- Retention
Mark Maloney, RI President 19/20
“Business as usual will not work for us anymore. Bringing in more members to replace the ones we lose is not the answer. It is like pouring more water into a bucket full of holes. We already know what the barriers are to an engaged and diverse membership. It is time to act on what we know: creating new membership models, opening new paths to Rotary membership, and building new clubs where current needs are not met”
1,254...Does anyone know the significance of that number? That is the number of years that our current members have been Rotarians. We have 96 members...17 of those members (roughly 20%) that have been Rotarians for longer than 25 years!
Suzanne Schlicht - 28, Kris Hammond - 33, Paula Cooper Black - 26, Rich Gloor - 44, John Holloway - 28, Bill Leeson - 38, Geneva Taylor - 32, Chris Stillwell - 27, Jim Steinberg - 35, Marje Tracy - 27, Jeff Swoyer - 36, Dan Bonner - 37, Kit Paulin - 30, Rod Hanna - 38, Jim Nowak - 33, Alice Klazuer - 26, and Steve Sehnert - 39
Rotary International has rolled out a new outlook on membership (one that I think the Rotary Club of Steamboat Springs is already quite good at - thank goodness RI finally is catching up with us). The goal is to focus on retention of current members and recruiting quality not quantity. In years past, RI has asked that club presidents set a goal of a number of members but has never focused on the quality of members. You could give us 500 new members and I know they could not accomplish what this club does!
This club is yours, and it is our goal, the Boards goal, to make sure that the club is working for you! We want you to know what is happening, how to get involved, and that your involvement and contributions are what make this club tick. YOU are the club’s most important asset and we want everyone here to be a lifetime member, and know that this is where you go for fellowship, support, and a sense of belonging. We hope you get as much from this club as you give!
Johrita Solari 20/21 RI Director
Asked “If you could create a club today, what would it look like?” and challenges us to “Disrupt what people think of Rotary”
“Lucky” for us, COVID happened. This disruption is making us change, like it or not. We are having to get creative in order to continue doing what we do! For a group that 4 months ago thought we needed to meet in person every week, we adjusted. We introduced virtual meetings to stay connected. We had virtual happy hours that had over 20 people on them at times! The scholarship committee put together what might be the most memorable scholarship presentations to date. The flower barrel committee adjusted their fundraiser to be more of a community raiser and successfully sold and delivered all flower barrels. The Cornhole committee, well into their planning process, recognized that the event was going to be too difficult to pull off in a pandemic and agreed to postpone it. The Lobsterfest committee took on a raffle fundraiser challenge, changing the whole format of their event. Why stop at these? We have so many opportunities to show ourselves as leaders, creators, and innovators, let’s take this momentum and run with it!
- BUDGET - We are great fundraisers and we prove that year after year with Cornhole Tournaments, Lobsterfests, flower barrels, and Barn Dances, but we can expect money to be scarce in the coming months. As a community focused service organization, we do not want to compete with non profits for limited available funds. The budget has been adjusted this year to reflect reduced fundraising. As of now, there are no plans to have a Lobsterfest this fall and budgeted income from the Cornhole Tournament is drastically reduced. Flower barrel income is also minimal. All of our Program Services rely on income from our fundraisers, so our financial support this year will likely be minimal. What does that mean? It sounds dismal, but I promise It is ok
- SERVICE ABOVE SELF - The Rotary motto! This is our opportunity to really show everyone what SERVICE ABOVE SELF means. Let’s be creative and proactive in our service efforts and show the other organizations in this town that we have a lot to give, even when money is hard to find, and find new ways to support the efforts of others and their needs.
- Please, when you hear of needs, bring them to the club and let’s find ways to support them.
- The benefits of our time of change could be endless, though it may not feel like the benefits are easy to see. With our club really focusing on service, we will see:
- Increased ENGAGEMENT
- FELLOWSHIP - One of the top hear from Rotarians is always fellowship - and we often hear that lunch meetings do not offer the best opportunity to get to know people. Relationships happen in committee gatherings, small group settings and get togethers outside of regular meetings. Service is prime opportunity for building relationships!
- Rotary Brand recognition- how often do people ask “What is Rotary?”
- Ellen Kendall is working with Mainstreet Steamboat to get Rotarians as the hosts for the day at the Farmers Market
- There is a PR committee working to find ways to increase the visibility of Rotary around town. Shirts, hats, and benches, to name a few, are in the works. Let’s get our bodies, our service and our brand all over town!
- Long term recruitment of new members - Rotary is like a garden. The seeds we plant today are the ones that turn into our deep rooted trees of tomorrow. So while we are getting out in our community time and time again, we are planting seeds all over town. The best example I hear of this on a regular basis is when it comes to exchange students and scholarships. How many times have you heard “I am a Rotarian because I got a Rotary scholarship” or “I am a Rotarian because I went on exchange when I was in high school” That Rotary seed was planted years ago! Service projects are where we build our roots! Building the Rotary boardwalk and Peace Pavilion, putting dictionaries in the hands of every 3rd grader for years, Rotary bike trails...these are our seeds that form our roots!
- Flexibility in meetings: In July, we will have 2 in person meetings and 2 virtual meetings. All live meetings for the time being, will be offered on Zoom so everyone can participate in a way that is comfortable for them. While lunch meetings as we know them are important, we will look for opportunities to add more social time to lunch meetings, add more social events and service opportunities, and look at different meeting options. If Tuesday at noon does not work for you, what does work for you and how can we get you involved!
- Increased ENGAGEMENT
Holger Knaack, RI President 20/21
“Rotary is not just a club that you join; it is an invitation to endless opportunities...The world needs Rotary now more than ever. It is up to us to make sure that Rotary Opens Opportunities for generations to come”
RETENTION: The Rotary Club of Steamboat Springs is a little like the Yampa Valley. Once you have experienced it, it is near impossible to get it out of your system! Let’s keep focused on our members and Rotary working for them so we always have 25+ year members!
The next two weeks will be Zoom meetings. Next weeks program is Elaine Hicks, the Executive Director of the Routt County Humane Society presenting the Yellow Dog Project.
Also, on Monday, July 13, the BOD meeting will be held at the Rodeo Grounds.
Have a great weekend,
Gillian-