This will be my final statement to the District of what we have accomplished and what needs to be accomplished in the future as this Rotary Year 2021 – 2022 ends June 30.
I am very sorry that I have not met personally with all of our Clubs. The reason is that my wife has COPD and could be seriously damaged were I to bring home COVID. Therefore, I have only attended Zoom meetings with our Clubs. However, a number of our Clubs that meet face to face would not, despite our Executive Secretary’s efforts, meet with me by Zoom, so I have not been able to meet with them. Those Clubs and I are all victims of COVID.
Overall, we had a good year. We brought to the District and its Clubs many innovations in our organization and in our services. We increased the capacity of our District and our mission, to become a service organization for the benefit of our Clubs. Due to our management reorganization, we made it possible, now and in the future, for a busy Rotarian at the peak of his or her career, to become a District Governor. We did not have a single dispute or crisis within our District. Our District staff functioned with courtesy and respect for our volunteer Rotarians and our Clubs. We have grown substantially in membership. These changes began when Mahbub Ahmad was District Governor and continued through Mary Shackleton’s year and quite a few were first implemented in this Rotary year. All the changes we have made this year were with the full collaboration of the District Governor String.
D7230 has seen a net growth of 80 members since 1 July - a phenomenal 7.19% growth that dwarfs the growth of all other 21 Districts in Zone 32. The overall membership growth in our Zone was 1.71% as of 31 March.
Zone Membership Chair Herb Klotz organized a panel discussion on New Clubs fueling membership growth. Our District was represented by the Heritage E-Club that has grown from 20 members when it was chartered in December 2018 to 33 members today. Heritage Membership Chair Rahat Hossain was joined in a panel discussion that included leaders from two other new clubs started in the past 3-4 years from our zone All three clubs have been very successful in growing their membership since being chartered - Mary Ammielle of Roc City (Rochester), and Melanie Druziako of Tri-County (Vineland-Millville-Buena-Newfield), NJ. They are very different types of clubs and have all been successful with growth. The discussion moderated by Louisa Horne, Zone New Club Advocate.
The District Board has approved a Crisis Management Plan for the District which will go into effect in the event of a crisis which requires special measures to be undertaken to handle such an eventuality.This document was developed to serve as an important procedural resource to assist District 7230 volunteers and participants in responding effectively when a crisis occurs in order to minimize risk and help ensure the safety of all, to the greatest extent possible.
Chalk up a big achievement for D7230! Our District has recorded a net gain of 61 members between 1 July 2021 and 31 January 2022. We now stand at 1160 members, up from 1099 at the beginning of this Rotary year a growth rate of 5.55%. This puts our District as the leader of the pack in membership growth in both Zones 28 and 32. The 21 Districts in Zone 32 have a total of 32,766 members in 1134 Clubs. Overall, our Zone saw a membership growth of only 0.83%
The District Board has formally adopted 2 important statements - the first on Ethics and the second on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).
The statement on Ethics is the first step in the newly established process in the District, which has seen the setting up of the independent Ethics and Dispute Resolution Committee that reports directly to the District Board and is chaired by PDG Helen Reisler.
The District Board has decided to encourage the formation of new clubs and to encourage the inclusion of young members. This policy remains at the discretion of the Board each year. The policy had previously been enacted in the District's Manual of Administrative Procedures (MAP) following approval by the Clubs in the District on 18 April 2021.
Under the new policy, all new Clubs will be exempt from District Dues for a period of two years from their Charter date. The District Invoice will reflect the full dues with a 100% offset described as New Club Reduction.