The Public Image team is looking for a Rotarian or two to join the team as an associate EDITOR for the monthly newsletter! This role would include collecting and editing articles for the monthly newsletter.
Please contact Kristina at kristina.ennis@gmail.com if you have a few hours a month to dedicate to editing articles for our monthly newsletter!
Start the year off with a focus on Vocational Service! Wait, what? What is Vocational Service anyway?
January is Vocational Service Month on the Rotary calendar. What exactly does that mean? Of Rotary’s five Avenues of Service – Club, Youth, Vocational, Community, and International – vocational seems to be more difficult to define and is sometimes forgotten. But… it is actually the heart of how Rotary started and continues to link to our Four Way Test and forms part of the essence of what Rotary is! How so, you ask? Business and professional life are still core aspects of Rotary, and Vocational Service is a major force in promoting honour, integrity, and trustworthiness in business – and in all that we think and do (sound familiar?)
A Short History Lesson
Originally, only one representative from each business or profession was invited to join a club because there was a mandated expectation of members doing business with each other and Paul Harris did not want members to compete against each other for other members’ business. The idea of “trade-boosting” was gradually eliminated and by 1912, Rotarians were no longer required to exchange business with one another. The “classification” system has evolved and now is useful as a way to consider professionals and areas of work that are not represented in a club so you can invite new members from those underrepresented areas. It is helpful to review a list of all professions, trades and areas of work in your community and to see if there are ones that are underrepresented in your club – including those who are working now and who are retired. Include people who are students and those whose work is non-paid too!
Vocational Service is Fundamental to Rotary… How?
Remember the Object of Rotary? This philosophical statement of Rotary’s purpose and the responsibilities of Rotarians is about the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and, in particular, it is meant to encourage and foster:
The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service
High ethical standards in business and professions; the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations; and the dignifying of each Rotarian’s occupation as an opportunity to serve society
The application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian’s personal, business, and community life
The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.
So where is Vocational Service rooted in those? Right. The second one. It’s pretty clear!
As leaders in their businesses and professions, Rotarians can advance high ethical standards by setting a positive example among colleagues and in their community. Here are a few specific ways Rotarians integrate ethics and vocational service into their daily work life:
Discuss and emphasize honesty, accountability, fairness, integrity, and respect when hiring, training, and working with other employees – and with Interactors, Rotaractors and others
Praise and encourage the exemplary behavior of colleagues – and club colleagues!
Demonstrate personal commitment to high ethical standards in relations with customers, vendors, and other associates, treat each work and volunteer interaction with care and consideration
Promote socially and environmentally responsible practices in your workplaces and clubs
So as a Rotarian, how can you put these ideals into action? Consider these suggestions:
Give every member a copy of Rotary’s Code of Conduct – a digital copy is available on our website for you to print in colour and even frame one for every member to have a copy in their workplace. If you would like us to send you colour copies, let Louisa know and we will send you however many you need. rotarylouisa@gmail.com
Talk about your work or volunteer life in your club and take time to learn about other members’ occupations. Maybe have a fun program, like speed dating, where members share “a day at work”. Or try an “impersonation” activity where each member impersonates another member to explain their work – paid and unpaid!
Make a list of all key employers and organizations in your community – how many are represented in your club? Pass around the list and see who knows someone at that organization that they can invite to an event.
If your community has a Chamber of Commerce or Board of Trade, look at their most recent award programs – who was nominated in all the categories? Write letters of congratulations to them – and then invite them to an event.
Use your skills and expertise to serve a community – for example, volunteer to help someone do their tax return. Help members of a new Canadian family with resume writing or practice interviews. Organize or participate in a Career Fair at a school or mentor a student exploring your area of work. Mentorship opportunities allow you to share your knowledge and guide youth in building a successful future. Consider conducting workshops or hosting professional development seminars. Organize a “workshop” to repair appliances or to build a table for a child and teach others how to use small hand tools.
Join a Rotarian Action Group – maybe Water, Sanitation and Hygiene – and support service projects around the world. These independent groups include Rotarians, family members, and Rotary program participants and alumni who have expertise in a particular field. Members advise clubs and districts and collaborate with them on service projects. Learn more at rotary.org/actiongroups.
Join or form a Rotary Fellowship that’s related to your vocation. Rotary Fellowships are international groups of Rotarians, family members, and program participants and alumni who share a vocational or recreational interest. Many fellowships are related to professions, such as Editors and Publishers, Health Professionals, Lawyers, Photographers, and Police and Law Enforcement. See more at rotary.org/fellowships.
Share your expertise through your district resource network. If you have technical expertise in one of Rotary’s six areas of focus — or with project planning and implementation, community assessment, measurement, and evaluation, or other important aspects of large-scale project grants — let your district international service chair know (elva.heyge@gmail.ca).
Educate current and new club members. Dedicate time to discussing the importance of The Four-Way Test and the Rotarian Code of Conduct. Discuss ethical dilemmas. Organize a workshop or interactive activity to discuss ethical resolutions to challenging scenarios. Recognize those who do good. Honour work places or professionals that demonstrate high ethical standards.
Sponsor a speaking contest or writing contest – use the Four Way Test as the prompt for the writing - or maybe an ethics workshop where groups of students tackle an ethical dilemma.
Host an event for business networking and professional development in your community. Maybe invite students to hear how accomplished women advance in their careers and balance their personal lives.
Host a RYLA – Rotary Youth Leadership Award – to connect experienced professionals with youth at the start of their careers. A one-day conference could feature entrepreneurs and philanthropists discussing issues and ideas related to advancing a career and developing personally and professionally. Offer career counseling and guidance.
Hopefully this gives you a few ideas about actions you can take this month to celebrate vocational service in your community. Trivia question – what are the five areas of service and how will you celebrate this month?
January’s theme is Vocational Service… but did you know that it used to be Rotary Awareness month? Let’s celebrate that too because it’s a great month to share Rotary and start the year with a burst of energy and a resolution that can change lives.
Rotarians around the world have been challenged to GROW ROTARY by attracting new members and starting new clubs. Your Leadership Team has resolved to grow Rotary… all members of your District Leadership Team will endeavor to invite at least one new potential member to their clubs in January – with the goal of adding at least 15 new members overall! That’s a long way toward helping us address the loss of over 100 people during the last 3 years. What will you do? If even only one third of our current members took up the challenge of sharing the awesomeness of Rotary by inviting a friend, colleague, neighbour, niece, or maybe their car salesperson, account manager, hairdresser or the new guy who moved in down the street to a meeting, we could achieve the highest membership ever and more importantly, extend our reach and have even more impact on our communities and around the world. A third of our members could do that! That should be pretty easy.
Are you up for this resolution?
Now, as I was thinking about this today, an amazing email popped up on my screen. Out of the blue, an email from “imagineer” Paul Hickey in the Charlottetown Rotary club stopped me in my tracks! Talk about being on the same page at the same time – I think we are kindred spirits. I immediately asked permission to share it… with minor edits… and it’s the most magnificent email I have received all year! I love the idea of being an imagineer and I hope you might give it a try too… here’s what Paul wrote:
Imagine all the good work we could do if we doubled our membership in each club. Imagine Rotary worldwide doubling its membership. What great things we could accomplish on behalf of those less fortunate in the world.
For me, Rotary is a great tsunami of kindness and generosity in the world. Every hour, everyday, everywhere on the planet, Rotarians are at work helping others make our world a better place – one act of kindness at a time. Rotary is millions of conversations everyday that search for solutions – small and large – to give a hand up to those in need. The world needs more Rotary. You can now speak Rotary in almost all the national languages in the world. Rotary speaks kindness, compassion, social action, generosity, service, love, gratitude, giving... in 200 languages around the world. Rotary is a love drama that plays everyday all around the globe. Rotary is non-political and non-religious, but it is a model for civil society and Rotary is full of spirituality. The world needs more Rotary. The needs of the world's poor and distressed are not decreasing and continue to grow. Even in our prosperous societies people suffer from poverty, lack of education, isolation, poor health, etc. Imagine 2.4 million Rotarians providing "service above self". We can double our footprint around the planet.
Peter Drucker was a respected business author. One of his last books focused on the three pillars of a prosperous civil society: good governance, a strong private sector and a strong non-profit sector. Rotary is a world class NGO. The world needs more Rotary. What will it take to think this is possible? A lot of creative thinking will be a good start; a willingness to explore the possibility. Can we do it? Of course we can. I'm sure Rotary's first century included great bursts of creativity followed by long periods of stability. From our mini-conference in November, we learned about Rotary's great ambition to double our financial capacity. Well, why not do the same for membership?
Back to PEI and the Rotary Club of Charlottetown Royalty and its sister clubs. Our membership committee is determined to dramatically increase the number of members in our club this year. And we are working creatively to do this. Our Discover Rotary breakfast on January 15th is going to be a milestone because we'll have up to 50 potential member guests at breakfast. We will reverse the downward slide in membership which has occurred over the last five years (2014... 82 members, 2019...only 55). We can do this because Rotarians are very talented and determined. We will do this because our committee is creating a lot of innovative ways to make it happen. To support the other PEI clubs, we will invite each club to send 2 guests and later we will share all the process, print and media materials we have developed.
Why am I so confident? Because we have a great bunch of enthusiastic, smart and creative people in our club. Also, I am very happy to offer my vocational skills to facilitate/lead workshops for any club(s). For over 30 years I have successfully co-created organization changes in the private, public and non-profit sectors. I can lead teams of 10 to 100 in action filled workshops which will produce: (1) a compelling image of success, (2) strategies and (3) specific action plans to achieve results.
So. Inspired yet to be an imagineer and make the resolution to share Rotary’s “great tsunami of kindness and generosity”? Want to know more from Paul? What are you going to do in your club to be irresistible to new members THIS month? Will you ask your adult children and other contacts about what they would find irresistible? Will you try something totally new and different? Will you ask that person that you have been holding back on to visit your club? Will you host a Discover Rotary event?
Here’s a bit of icing on the cake… if your club attracts five new members (that’s net above your January 1st number with NEW Rotarians or transfers from OUTSIDE the district), the district will waive District dues for the rest of this year AND we will support an orientation event for them – and offer some support for a special welcome party. And of course, we are already waiving District dues this year for any new Rotarians who are under 35 years of age. We will also provide membership pins and new member packages, if you need them. What else would help you? Let us know and we’ll try our best to support your success with this suggested resolution!
Trivia – what was the previous Rotary theme for January and how are you celebrating it?
Just over half of the year has gone by already and 2020 is here! Do you have a 2020 vision for your club? How is your club moving the needle? What goals did you set this year? How can your district help you cross a few off the list? The good news is that there is still time.
Here are a few ideas to prompt some future visioning. Once you decide what needle you want to move, your district has a team of talented volunteers who can help you. How, you ask? You could request a “traditional” visit with a presentation on a topic of your choice… or Louisa’s choice! Or you could request something else that will have you move your club’s needle such as…
A program on public image, remote or in person, to help you leverage social media or learn how to use People of Action tools
A remote or in person program on Rotary Membership Trends, the State of Rotary, the Foundation, Polio, ClubRunner, Rotary Brand Centre
Help with your first international project – find a partner, start working on your first grant
Help with a new youth initiative – your first short term exchange perhaps or a remote program on the Adventures opportunities
Facilitation assistance for strategic planning
A presentation to a local Chamber of Commerce, Board of Trade or some other group with which you’d like to establish a partnership
Exploratory meetings/discussion with potential partners
Certificates for special occasions or recognition of Rotarians
Resources to support membership initiatives
Charter/Anniversary Event presentation
New member Orientation support
Specific support for various roles within a club – e.g., Secretary or Treasurer coaching
Anything else your club might be seeking help with!
We also have a few challenges for you as well:
Data updates – ensure member and club data in ClubRunner and MyRotary are up to date
Membership – Look in the mirror and at every moment of truth to help your club to be more irresistible (do think before you jump to “recruiting”)
Growth – Enhance member experience to promote irresistibility and/or start new clubs (especially Satellite/Passport clubs)
Fees – District will subsidize/waive district fees for those under 35 who join this Rotary year and the challenge is for clubs to do some special things to attract younger members and waive their club fees too! One year only.
5% Polio contribution increase (requested by our Zone) – all clubs that gave at least $100 last year, and who increase by at least 5% this year, will be entered in a contest to win a dinner for their club prepared by District leadership. The club with the greatest % increase will also receive a dinner – 2 dinners on the line.
Consider new youth program involvement
Public Image Puppies! Train them by visiting projects in the community (as far back as possible) and take photos of the puppy at them – and maybe with symbols or photos from international projects – and submit to us to show them all – and form an archive for each club’s site. Send a paragraph explaining how club would use up to $500 for a Public Image project (new banner, updated signage, parade stuff…). April 1 is the next deadline for submissions.
Rotary Citation – not mandatory, but many clubs achieve the required tasks by regular club activity. The citation is not too hard this year. It would be great to see more clubs aim to achieve it!
We are also hoping that clubs will look for ways to integrate attention to environmental issues into our work – we don’t have a specific initiative but would be happy to collaborate with you on any ideas you have!
Let’s make 2020 a year for great vision. Questions? Requests? Let Louisa know – rotarylouisa@gmail.com
It is no surprise that many Gander Rotary members and their spouses look forward to the Annual Santa Claus Parade. On December 7th, Rotarians came out as they always do with service for the Town of Gander & Area Annual Santa Claus Parade. It was a beautiful winter night and a brilliant opportunity for festive fellowship. Rotarians proudly walk through the joyful event collecting non perishable food items for both local foodbanks. The support from the community is tremendous and the Rotary Club of Gander is happy to be there to provide service.
Club President Randy Breen said “ As a club, The Gander Rotary is honored to have the opportunity to support our food banks again this year”. The club also recently presented both foodbanks with a $1500.00 donation.
The Rotary Club of Exploits "uncorked the spirit of giving" during our Annual Something to Wine About Wine Tasting event. To date our Rotary Club is proud to have given over $125,000 to community organizations and over $20,000 to international projects during the past 7 years. Now in the 2019-2020 Rotary Year we have continued the spirit of giving again!
Thanks to the business community and local citizens who support our event each year in both Grand Falls-Windsor and the surrounding Central, NL region and beyond since 2012. Thank you to everyone who supported, sponsored and attended this event! You all helped us Uncork the Spirit of Giving in support of Lionel Kelland Hospice. Through your generous support we were able to surpass our fundraising goal. We were humbled and honored to present Lionel Kelland Hospice with a donation of $25,000.00 from this years wine event.
River the Ro-terrier was jumping for joy as they were pawsitvely beaming with excitement during the check presentation. Our club would like to thank everyone who help make this a reality. Too date we have donated over $100,000.00 to the Lionel Kelland Hospice. The LKH will be the first of it's kind in Newfoundland and Labrador and we are proud to have supported this project. Our community and province will benefit greatly for years to come.
Receiving organizations applied for funding through our community funding application!! Any organization can apply for funding through this process through out the year. We review applications on a quarterly basis.
Facebook is an important vehicle to share great news about Rotary. A key success factor is to encourage all of your club’s members to do a few things to leverage the opportunity:
Ensure that someone has responsibility for your social media – and likes to do that important service!
As an individual Rotarian, make sure to “Like” your club’s Facebook page
As an individual Rotarian, make sure to “Like” the district Facebook page
Ensure captions on photos are captivating and to the point, quick and easy to read as others are scrolling through their feeds
Post interesting images and stories about your activities – try to go beyond “grip and grin” handshaking photos where possible. Find an “action” shot or do something fun to create an attractive photo (e.g., toss a puppy in) – crop every photo to focus on the key part.
Post images related to the groups you support – and groups that support you! Thank sponsors and organizations you support – and always TAG them. That is how the message spreads. Post about and tag your speakers.
Like posts from your own club, other clubs and the district
Share posts from your own club, other clubs and the district
Try to post at least once a week to keep your site fresh.
Link Facebook to your website so the posts are updating your website too!
Review your club’s Facebook site and website regularly to ensure the information is fresh and accurate – e.g., theme updates, upcoming event listings
Consistent branding for Rotary is important. We have been working on updating district pages and have been encouraging clubs to do the same. The “new” logo is actually six years old already so that’s not very new… it has a solid colour wheel, and most importantly, wherever possible, it has a very obvious “ROTARY” beside it to help people know who is behind that wheel. This update was one in a series of many changes over the years, designed to raise awareness of the good work that Rotary does. We are almost fully compliant – we have a district logo with the solid colour wheel, and we have almost every club with a current logo on their Facebook site and website. There are still a few with out of date logos or international themes but hopefully we will soon all be showing a consistent image.
If your club needs assistance with Public Image, your district can help – for example, virtual programs about social media are possible. Just let us know what would help you move the needle!
Trivia question – what is the difference between the “old” logo and the current one?
Rotary’s Guiding Principles have been developed over the years to provide Rotarians with a strong, common purpose and direction. They serve as a foundation for our relationships with each other and the action we take in the world.
They include:
The Four-Way Test
The Four-Way Test is a nonpartisan and nonsectarian ethical guide for Rotarians to use for their personal and professional relationships. The test has been translated into more than 100 languages, and Rotarians recite it at club meetings: Of the things we think, say or do
Is it the TRUTH?
Is it FAIR to all concerned?
Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
Object of Rotary
The Object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and foster:
FIRST: The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service;
SECOND: High ethical standards in business and professions; the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations; and the dignifying of each Rotarian’s occupation as an opportunity to serve society;
THIRD: The application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian’s personal, business, and community life;
FOURTH: The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.
Avenues of Service
We channel our commitment to service at home and abroad through five Avenues of Service, which are the foundation of club activity.
Club Service focuses on making clubs strong. A thriving club is anchored by strong relationships and an active membership development plan.
Vocational Service calls on every Rotarian to work with integrity and contribute their expertise to the problems and needs of society. Learn more in An Introduction to Vocational Service and the Code of Conduct.
Community Service encourages every Rotarian to find ways to improve the quality of life for people in their communities and to serve the public interest. Learn more in Communities in Action: A Guide to Effective Projects.
International Service exemplifies our global reach in promoting peace and understanding. We support this service avenue by sponsoring or volunteering on international projects, seeking partners abroad, and more.
1. Act with integrity and high ethical standards in my personal and professional life
2. Deal fairly with others and treat them and their occupations with respect
3. Use my professional skills through Rotary to mentor young people, help those with special needs, and improve people’s quality of life in my community and in the world
4. Avoid behavior that reflects adversely on Rotary or other Rotarians
5. Help maintain a harassment-free environment in Rotary meetings, events, and activities; report any suspected harassment; and help ensure non-retaliation to those individuals that report harassment
Quiz
The Public Image team is looking for a Rotarian or two to join the team as an associate EDITOR for the monthly newsletter!
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January’s theme is Vocational Service… but did you know that it used to be Rotary Awareness month? Let’s celebrate that too because it’s a great month to share Rotary and start the year with a burst of energy and a resolution that can change lives. 
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The Rotary Club of Exploits "uncorked the spirit of giving" during our Annual Something to Wine About Wine Tasting event. To date our Rotary Club is proud to have given over $125,000 to community organizations and over $20,000 to international projects during the past 7 years. Now in the 2019-2020 Rotary Year we have continued the spirit of giving again!
Rotary’s Guiding Principles have been developed over the years to provide Rotarians with a strong, common purpose and direction. They serve as a foundation for our relationships with each other and the action we take in the world..png)
