Report on Club Visioning Session Part Two
The first part of the report of the club visioning session showed that members were pleased and proud of their club, but there were areas where changes and improvements are being sought.
This report covers in more detail what things annoyed members and what they would like to change. There were 28 respondents.
“What things do you not like about the club?” There were 11 comments.
Verbatim these were, complacency, members’ lack of commitment to the club and club activities, the sergeant’s session, older members who are inflexible, some people dominating discussion, low member support at auction and goalsetters, breakfast meetings, breakfasts aren’t as good as they used to be, boring fines, cutting speakers’ time short, the middle class world view.
“What things would you like to change?”
15 suggestions for improvement were put forward. These were: more diverse membership, more opportunities to volunteer, wider range of speakers, happy dollar, stand up breakfast, theatre style seating, more younger members, cut out the sergeant’s session, end the no jeans rule, two-year terms for presidents, no more quizzes, overreliance on a few members, need a regular space for meetings, use more inclusive language, do projects for those without a lot of cash.
Breakfast got 10 comments and suggestions.
Put stuff in cups, bagels please, fresh tomatoes, better coffee, more flavour in the scrambled eggs, happy with less, no more hash browns, fruit and cereal only once a month, introduce a light breakfast option, and have a stand up breakfast
General Comments
Members also had the opportunity at the end of the survey to offer further comment. 19 of the 28 respondents did so. The verbatim comments were:
The club is suffering from carrying a significant number of “members” who do little to contribute to club activity and are rarely seen.
I enjoy the club and am proud of what we achieve. The bulletin is helpful and it would be good to get all our activities and opportunities included so that we can all access and participate in the things we want to. We also need to switch our focus from raising money from ourselves to raising it from outside our membership.
We appear to be losing our sense of belonging – information leads to enthusiasm and a feeling of belonging. Currently if you are not on the board, you are a passenger and quite disconnected.
Street appeals led by Port Nich (and including other clubs) to raise money for a specific cause.
We want to be more attractive to younger and more diverse membership. Remove barrier to them joining and participating in the activities of the club.
Subsidise costs for new members. Better knowledge of Rotary Foundation. Improve appeal of meetings. More pride in our members – know what we are.
The Sergeant’s session has the potential to destroy Rotary. Thankfully the inane quiz nonsense has been stopped. Sergeant is an anachronistic hangover from Old Boys who served in the military where the sergeant enforced discipline. It has no place in a modern Rotary Club – most younger members would have no idea what it is about, and if done badly, it is an embarrassment.
I wonder if we can think of (or get more involved in) the “Port Nich” aspect of our club – the piano on the waterfront is a wonderful example. More activity around the Wellington harbour and the waterfront would be ideal.
Look at the research on volunteer organisations and learn from the trends. The issues are bigger than us.
I am happy with being a member of this club and have been so for a number of years.
If we want to diversify, we may need to make some changes that will make our club more attractive. I suggest we have a working group that talks to people from other cultures to see if we can discern what would need to happen to make our club attractive.
The future is the young people in the community. This means a change in cost. Can we organise a social enterprise? We have the skills for this.
Keep appealing to young people. Take a lead in Wellington City. Get behind big projects like the new Entertainment Centre. Build membership. Discuss fortnightly meetings. Bring back the Queen. Look after past members.
Get youth (RYLA, Interact, Rotoract to breakfasts and catch their enthusiasm, and take more interest in them.
I think the club is changing and can change more. It seems more open to doing different things and to doing things differently – less rigid and less centred around the views and enthusiasm of some individuals. Need to continue on this track. Have a structure and approach that suits our character but is still consistent with Rotary principles.
Great venue, great speakers, interesting members, excellent time to meet.
I’d like the club to have projects that raise our (not just Rotary’s) profile in the community. Currently the piano fits that.
I have been warmly welcomed into the club and its activities I thoroughly enjoy meeting and interacting with club members and attending morning meetings. I am looking to invite friends to our meetings but have come up against time conflicts – some are already at work at 7am; others find the time off-putting, but I am working on it.
Bring back Blind Dine. More money for the Excellence Awards. Support wider causes than what everyone else does. Why are Karori ANZ Breakfasts so popular? Maybe some extra sessions by RCPN including a wider range of activities/interest/issues. I feel ostracised at times because of job/interests. Inclusivity is essential.
