Dan Morgan, center, district governor for Rotary International, addresses the Brookfield Rotary Club. Also shown are Marilyn Titus, assistant governor, and Brookfield member Wade Foltz.
Bill Litman is a charter member of the Brookfield Rotary Club and remembers the days when it had upwards of 30 members.
“We always had some big project going on,” he said at the Rotary’s Jan. 7 meeting.
Big projects like creating what became the Brookfield Public Library, building the gazebo in Brookfield Center, and installing the community events sign at the center.
But, the membership has dropped to seven. The club, which was created in 1977, has plenty of projects to work on, but all the work falls on the same people.
Rotary clubs used to be able to rely on local employers that required their employees to join service clubs, and often paid their dues, said Brookfield Rotary President Elwood Walker.
“The climate of that has really changed,” said Brookfield Rotary Secretary/Treasurer Jean McKenzie, both in terms of number of employers in the area and their philosophy toward service clubs.
How do we get new members? Litman asked Dan Morgan, Rotary International’s district 6650 governor.
“The membership isn’t just your concern,” Morgan said.
There are 1.2 million Rotary members worldwide, but that number is unchanged from 10 years ago and the only region where membership is increasing is Asia. U.S. membership is declining, and that is expected to continue, Morgan said.
Rotary is not the only service club with membership issues, and service club membership has fallen so drastically that the main competition for Rotary is not the Lions or the Kiwanis – it’s LinkedIn, the business- and employment-oriented social media organization, Morgan said.
LinkedIn does one thing very well, and it’s something Rotary has gotten away from – networking, he said. It’s time to reclaim that aspect of Rotary, he said.
In attracting new members, you start at close range: inviting family members and friends to events, he said.
When you have an event, make sure there are kids there, or create new events involving kids, he said. With kids come parents, and who doesn’t like to see a smiling child? Morgan said.
“They’re entwining with the community and want to come back,” he said.
Morgan also suggested reaching out more to other Rotary clubs to build up the sense of camaraderie and friendship that exists within Brookfield Rotary.
The Brookfield Rotary sponsors a Cub Scout pack and the Brookfield High School Interact Club; provides a scholarship to a graduating senior; assists the Brookfield Township Outreach Association, the Brookfield Backpack Program and the township organizers of Safety Awareness Night and the township’s annual Memorial Day observance; and holds an annual Veterans’ Appreciation Lunch.
Morgan was impressed with the list, but suggested the group do more to promote itself – invite the media to more events – and create more events that focus on fun.
“We need to think about what makes us laugh and makes us have a good time,” said Morgan, who lives near Canton.
People will come if there’s fun to be had, Morgan said,
It’s difficult for a group of older people, like the members of Brookfield Rotary, to attract younger people; that’s why you have to stress the ideals that the club holds, Morgan said. LinkedIn is not a values-based organization, but Rotary is, he said.
“If you can help people understand why you’re doing what you’re doing, then you can engage their hearts,” Morgan said.
The Brookfield Rotary funds all its activities with one fundraiser, Fly the Flag, in which members plant a flag on someone’s property in return for a $25 donation.
Anyone interested in learning more about Rotary or about becoming a member can call Walker at 330-448-1500, or stop by a Rotary meeting, which is held at noon the first and third Tuesday of each month at Papa Louie’s Italian Kitchen, 7172 Warren Sharon Road.
