Weekly Club Newsletter - 7/17/2013
Meeting Recap
Greetings fellow Rotarians! Today, we were honored with a visit from District Governor, Stephen Dates and his wife Elaine. District Governor Dates started things off by recognizing the Club for attaining the highest net membership gain in the District for the 2012-2013 fiscal year and for earning a Presidential Citation. He then recognized Kristin Winer for becoming a member of the Rotary Bequest Society. This arm of Rotary is comprised of individuals who include the Rotary Foundation in their estate and legacy planning. Congratulations to the Club and to Kristin for these recognitions! Mr. Dates then discussed this year’s Rotary Theme of “Engage Rotary, Change Lives”. He pointed out that global membership in Rotary has remained steady at 1.2 million members for the past 20 years. The good news is that membership across the globe has increased during that time. The bad news, however, is that these gains have been offset by a significant decline in membership numbers in North America in recent years. Mr. Dates explained that the key to keeping Rotary strong is not only through growth, but through member retention. He stated that the best way to retain existing members is to make certain they are engaged in Rotary and that they continue to have a vested interest in what we are trying to accomplish. Mr. Dates suggested using surveys at the Club level to help get a sense from members as to what they feel would be helpful in keeping them engaged in Rotary. Thank you to District Governor Dates and Mrs. Dates for taking time out of their schedules to visit with us today!
Rotary Dues
You all should have received an invoice for the 2013-2014 Rotary dues. Included in your annual dues are your shares of the District 7850 dues and Rotary International dues. Due to the fact the Club is required to pay the District and Rotary International dues rather quickly, we ask that you please remit payment of your dues as soon as possible. If you do not intend to renew your membership, we would ask that you please let our board members know immediately so that they update our Club’s membership information.
Essex Rotary Corn Booth
Believe it or not, fair season is just around the corner, which means it is time to start thinking about the Essex Rotary Corn Booth. Our Club will be selling the freshest corn in the county at the Champlain Valley Fair from August 24th through September 2nd. In order for this event to be a success, we need all of our members to pitch in and volunteer to work shifts. The more helping hands the better, so please encourage your family members and friends to pitch in as well. A sign up sheet for shifts will be circulated at the next meeting, however, Committee Chair, Holly Lemieux anticipates that we will be able to sign up on our website before then. For more information about this event, please contact Holly Lemieux at holly@lemieux-law.com
Upcoming Meeting Schedule: Wednesday, July 24th – Our speaker will be Julie Edwards, Curator at Shelburne Farms.
For the complete list of upcoming speakers and general information about the Club, please go to our website at www.essexrotary.org Be sure to also check out our Club’s Facebook page!
Yours in Rotary,
Jason Ruwet