AUGUST 2019 BRICK BULLETIN

The Brick Magazine 2019

Welcome to the new RY 2019/2020, first, I would like to congratulate you on the epic installation ceremony that enabled our club to commit to new goals and targets towards connecting with families, community and the world. The Rotary strategic priorities focus on “increasing our impact, expanding our reach, enhancing participant engagement and increasing ability to adapt.” No wonder, July the month of planning has been an eventful one. Appreciation goes to everyone who engaged in one activity or the other with highlights of the Cancer Run launch where our own PAG Juliet is the Chair, the training initiative by PAG Peace and the Entebbe Road corridor solidarity should be fully embraced towards accessing the Global Grants Applications. The creative and innovative Bricks buddy group under the leadership of PN Alex Kamukama has emphasized our roles and responsibilities to be effective Rotarians. The club attendance at 56% can be well improved upon! Let us encourage our friends of the year to participate, give to TRF and increase our visibility by connecting with rotary clubs and events. The incredible team which braved the rain to get our future Rotarians immunized at Jjanyi thank you giving the little angels a chance to live polio free. The projects team working tirelessly on the assessment for Katwe Bweya is much appreciated.

Let us usher in the Bricks Buddy group for the membership month which is the backbone of Rotary led by Rtn Ritah Nakasaawe. We expect a member’s satisfaction survey to be conducted, attracting more members through engagement of our regular guests and participation at the Cancer Run, the Family Health Day which is round the corner and preparations for the DG’s visit on 11^th September 2019.

Finally, our prayers for Rtn Stanley who is undergoing treatment in India, Rtn Mary Nagganda who lost a grandparent and our Ann to PAG Ddamulira Joseph who needs total healing.

All club members, “Alluta Continua.”

August is the designated month for Membership and New Club Development. And as we are all aware, “Membership” is the number one internal priority of Rotary International. Why? Because membership is one of the pathways through which we can extend our footprint and enhance the impact of our projects.

As District Governor, one of my roles is to encourage clubs to increase our membership. And the statistics show that clubs have taken heed. We are bringing in new members. We are forming new clubs and our district is one of the fastest growing Rotary districts in the world. Sadly however, our district is also continuously losing members. Over the last four years, we have been losing an average of 200 – 300 members a year!! And so the question is - why are our clubs so porous? Therefore as we celebrate this month, it is imperative that we focus on the retention of the people who come through our doors.

Keeping members is a sign of a club’s stability and well-being – just the same way retaining personnel in a company indicates a good working environment and stable organization. Conversely, consistently losing members is an indicator of gaps somewhere.
I often hear from clubs that members are dropping out because they are unable to regularly attend weekly meetings. And yes, that is partially true and
we must address it. In this day and age – where people have so many competing demands on their
time, we must change our strategy to reflect the changing times. We must exercise more flexibility in the way we run our clubs, applying the options given by the Council on Legislation. We must be mindful of the demands on our members’ time, and should never expect our members to make a choice between their families and Rotary, or their work and Rotary.

But beyond tweaking a few things, we need to do
some introspection. What is it that our clubs are not doing that makes it difficult for some members to commit to us? What is it that we offering our
members that would make them forsake everything else, for an hour each week, to attend our club fellowships? Put simply: what is our club’s value proposition? It is important for everybody, as it is for you and me, to ensure that we value our time and money and how we spend it. What that means for us in Rotary is to make an intentional effort to ensure that we are providing our members with a worthwhile experience! It is important that our fellowships are informative, fun but also meaningful and responsive to the needs and interests of our members. Our value proposition should be derived from the Object of Rotary and should guide our relationships with each other. The Object of Rotary is the essence of who we are and what we do.

Finally, we need to work on membership engagement in order to retain our members. Engaged ‘seasoned’ rotarians are a club’s greatest asset while ‘disengaged’ members could be a significant liability. Member engagement should begin before induction and throughout the year to ensure a sense of belonging and ‘connection.’

Members who are welcomed, and are involved in club leadership, decisions and activities; and who perceive that the organization is benefiting them will not only stay on as members, but will want to share the experience with friends and acquaintances.

This year the District has appointed two District Officers: PAG Ronald Kawaddwa (District Chair -
Membership) and PAG Jane Kabugo (District Chair- New Club Development) to assist clubs with membership extension, engagement and development. Let us use them and the online resources on My Rotary to grow and boost our membership.

A happy family attracts - share your love for Rotary.

Rtn. Marion Natukunda tips Kajjansi Rotarians on Planning and Execution of Club Roles

 Last Wednesday, RC Kajjansi was excited  and blessed to have Rtn. Marion Natukunda from RC  Kiwatule talking about Planning & Execution of Club Roles.

 The teacher in her made left nothing to immagination. The following are some of the highlights of her talk to members present.

On the role of the club Secretary, she said that the  secretary of the club is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

She hires and fires members. All correspondences from Governor, Country, they are handled by the club Secretary.

She warned that when a secretary, President and Club Admin are fighting amongst themselves, then a big problem is likely to face that particular club.

Talking about the role of the Director Club Administation (Club Admin) she said that this one is the manager of the club. Everything administrative has to be handled by  this person.  She went ahead to inform members that this person handles the club calendar. After three months, he has to release the club Annual calendar. He is the custodian of buddy groups. She hastened to ad that in many clubs, Buddy groups have ended up usurping the powers of the club admin.

“Make sure buddy groups don’t take over the club.” She counselled adding that  “In most clubs they have taken over.”

At the end of August share your fully fledged club calendar.

On the role of the  club sergent at arms, she said that  this person is supposed to be standing behind and  has to move around and be stationed in a position where the president can communicate with him/her. He/she must keep law and order during fellowship. The eye contact between the sergent and the president is very important in ensuring a smooth fellowship. 

On the role of the treasurer, she said that the incumbent is supposed to draw the budget and ensure that it has expenses and income and knows how to use the money.

She said that project money should never be used for club admin.

The treasurer should know each and every fund where it comes and where it is going to be used.

The club assembly is the governing body of the club. The Board cannot override the decisions of the club assembly.

The Board meets to keep the club in check. The Board must sit once a month and before it sits, committees must have sat before and they send their reports to the secretary. Once you find the board is sitting for more than three hours, it means the committees are not sitting.