President Mark Killingsworth presided over today’s meeting held at Holiday Inn North and the Zoom online conference platform. Lucy Sanguinetti provided the opening prayer. Richard Topp led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Joe Bost and thanked those who helped with today’s meeting. He asked Mike McPhail to introduce his guest. Mike has Steward Davidson as his guest today.
Mark then introduced today’s guest speaker, Mark LaSalle. Mark is a member of the Moss Point Rotary Club. He currently supports the District’s Membership and Foundation Committees. He is a naturalist and wetland ecologist.
Mark introduced Rotary’s Membership Initiative. The Initiative demonstrates ways to engage and secure new members and ways to engage and retain existing members. By using the Initiative, Mark’s club was able to attract two new members. He is encouraging each Club in his District to develop a club action plan incorporating these strategies.
Some of the attraction strategies include giving each speaker a brochure about our club and asking them to return as our guests. Another strategy includes a brainstorming session where Club members identify eight people that would be good Rotarians and then assigning members to invite them to join. He also suggested that every Club have a social or a service project every month and invite potential members to participate.
To engage current members, he suggested that every member has a role to play in Club projects. He also suggested that the Club establish a new member mentor program. Club members would be assigned a new member and make sure they feel comfortable by participating in Rotary.
The Initiative also suggests that every Club appoint a membership committee and a chair for that committee. The plan should include at least three attraction and engagement strategies. It should also spell out who is responsible for implementation when the strategy is to be completed, and define what the anticipated goal is.
Mark thanked Mike for their presentation. He reminded members that the Rotary Foundation is the club’s fourth quarter cause. Members are encouraged to donate $125 to the Foundation before the end of June. Lucy announced that Festival South will be held this year. It was canceled last year due to the pandemic. The Festival kicks off on the evening of June 5.
Bill McCleod reported that member Anthony Harris’ son has published a children’s book and noted that our Club could develop a service project to purchase and distribute the book to area elementary school children.
There being no further business to come before the club, Mark adjourned the meeting with our motto: “Service Above Self.”