MEMBERSHIP

INTRODUCING VISITORS/PROSPECTIVE MEMBERS TO CLUB MEETINGS

Any member may propose a new member providing that the person meets the various requirements laid down in the Constitution and that there is a suitable Classification vacant within the Club. If in doubt you should check with the Club Secretary before completing a proposal.

If any Rotary Club is not to become a group of old fogies with the inevitable passage oftime, it is essential that new, younger blood is encouraged. It is normal practise to bring the proposed new member as a guest on a few occasions, to enable them to get a feel for the Club and, importantly, for Club members to meet them. There is no need to be secretive about proposing a new member, but it is up to the Rotarian to be quite sure of the eligibility of the proposed member to avoid any embarrassment at a later date.

Although any member can propose a new member, it is up to the members of the Club to agree to a new member. You must make it clear at the outset that membership may not be granted. An information meeting is beneficial to the proposed new member, and this has been explained earlier.

Proposal Forms can be obtained from the Secretary, who will explain the format and proceedings for the satisfactory completion and process.You must remember, those of you who introduce new members, that your responsibilities do not cease with the induction of the new member. You must try and assist with introductions etc., for at least another six months. A new member joining the Club faces asomewhat daunting task of finding out who everyone is, trying to find out a bit more about them on a mutual basis.

 CLUB ORGANISATION

 The Rotary Year runs from 1st July to 30th June.

Council

Council meetings are normally held on the 1st Tuesday of each month after the regularClub meeting. Business Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month instead of a speaker. Although the Club Council organises the Club, Club Members have the final say. All expenditure must have the prior approval of Council.

Committees

All members are allocated to a committee, under a convenor who is the primary person responsible for running that particular committee. All convenors can be found in the Club Directory together with the members of their respective committees. Often convenors of committees will have served on the same committee the previous year as, although this is not a "hard and fast rule", it helps to provide continuity.

Club Service Committee

The Convenor is the Senior Vice President. Responsibilities: Looks after the general running of the Club.Functions which are the responsibility of this committee include Membership Development, Membership Information, Classification, Attendance, House, Sales, Fellowship, Programme & Speakers, Sports & Publicity. In practise, in our Club, these items are given to separate convenors, who report to the S.V.P. (* See details of each convenor’s responsibilities at the end of the committee list.)

Community Service Committee

The purpose of Community Service is to encourage and foster the application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian's personal, business and community life. Although we like to focus our attentions on our own Club area of Perth, it is not restricted to that area. We give financial assistance to individuals and groups and organise ‘hands on’ events at which Rotarians can become involved in local community activities and groups.

Foundation and International Service Committee

Foundation is Rotary's own charity and is poorly understood by many Rotarians. It is operated exclusively for charitable and educational purposes, including, but not restricted to,

"The furthering of understanding and friendly relations between people of different nations through fostering the tangible and effective programs of philanthropic, charitable, educational and other *eleemosynary (*relating to charity or almsgiving: dependant on charity ) nature."

The Club has a minimum financial commitment to Foundation each year, which is collected by Gift Aid enhanced donation from Members. For every £1 we raise we can request that Foundation give a ‘Matching Grant’, and,  with luck and the right application, we can get a further grant from the EEC to double the £2 to £4.

International projects are made available to members regularly through Business Meeting, ‘Chatter’ our Club newsletter, and the Club website at

www.perthkinnoull.co.uk

Youth & Vocational Committee

Youth Service deals primarily with the young of today who will be the leaders and prominent people of tomorrow. It concentrates on youngsters of between the ages of 16 and 22, who would make ideal exchange students, or who would benefit from attending the RYLA camp in Speyside. It also deals with the young of today in general, and we may try and do our bit with "Drug Awareness", alcohol abuse and schemes of a similar nature.

Ways & Means Committee

This committee has responsibility for raising funds which are then dispersed to good causes by the other committees. The principle fund-raising event organised by Ways & Means each year is the Charity Golf, generally held in August. This Convenorship organises our social scene - very important, as fellowship is very much a major part of Rotary. As well as occasional visits to other Rotary Clubs, the Fellowship Convenor also arranges outings and visits to places of interest, and quizzes, etc within the club programme.

Programme FellowshipFel

The programme convenor is responsible for organising the rest of the Club to provide speakers, which generally works out at everyone providing one speaker per year. We do have official visits from Rotary Officers from time to time and they can always come to give us specialised ‘in-depth’ information on particular aspects of Rotary if needed. Also organised are door duty rotas, Speakers hosts, Bottle providers and Visitors Hosts. This last duty is most important as it details one member to keep an eye open for visiting Rotarians or visitors who are member's guests.

Visiting Rotarians turn up on a regular basis, perhaps on holiday or maybe just keeping up attendance figures for their own Club. Quite often visiting Rotarians from a Club outside our area will bring a Banner with them and we reciprocate with one of ours. Now that we have acquired a reasonable collection of different Club Banners, we have been able to mount them on a large display banner and they are generally on display special occasions.

 

Fellowship

This Convenorship organises our social scene - very important, as fellowship is very mucha major part of Rotary. As well as occasional visits to other Rotary Clubs, the Fellowship Convenor also arranges outings and visits to places of interest, and quizzes, etc within the club programme.

Sports

This is a fairly busy convenorship, responsible for all the Club’s sporting activities. The main sports the Club is involved in are golf and curling. A majority of current members hit a golf ball around at some stage, some much better than others. We have competitions with other Clubs, mainly the other two Clubs in Perth, but we also participate in District and National Rotary Competitions. The curling as provide to be more successful recently and we compete in the local Rotary Curling League as well as the District "Ram's Head" trophy. Suggestions from members are always welcome and will be considered.

Publicity

Very important, as it brings to the public eye what we are about, and what we do for the local community and elsewhere. This involves active contact with the local press and local radio as well as input to ‘Chatters’ and the club website. Our Publicity Convenor does an excellent job of promoting our image which this small entry doesn’t do justice to.

Membership & Information

This convenor’s remit to try and suggest or guide existing members in the quest for new members. We do not push hard for new members, but through circumstance and "Murphy's Law" we will possibly loose one or more members over the course of a year, sometimes through new jobs, re-location or whatever. (Please see further notes under "Introducing New Members".)

The convenor undertakes to meet with prospective new members on an informal basis, to explain the Objects of Rotary and give a general description of what Rotary is all about and to answer any questions prospective members might have. Prospective Rotarians may bring a spouse/partner along if desired and his sponsor will also attend the meeting (for moral support).

The Membership & Information Convenor is also available to members who might have questions and queries on any aspect of Rotary.

Attendance, Sales and House

This convenor keeps a weekly record of attendances and reports these to R.I.B.I. annually, maintains a note of our visits to other Clubs, and keeps an eye on individuals attendance to ensure we achieve the required 50% minimum. Members may seek dispensation from Council for non-attendance due to special circumstances, but the Club as whole must make up for that person’s non-attendance. To help achieve this it is possible for the member to visit another Club to gain ‘an Attendance’. This can be done for 14 days either side of the missed day. Illness is one of the reasons allowed for non-attendance at meetings, as are one or two other extenuating circumstances (see ‘Introduction to Rotary’). If you are unable to attend a meeting, it is only polite to notify someone you know will be attending the meeting, or to phone the hotel and request an apology to be noted for that day.

There is also a Holiday Sheet on the notice board which assists the people on door duty to note your absence. Please sign the Attendance Sheet on arrival each week and please also sign to indicate you have visited another Club(s). This attendance sheet is the only record our convenor has of your attendance/non-attendance - so it's important.

Additionally, this convenor organises all of the Club’s documentation, paperwork, regalia, sweaters, ties, badges, etc. Any particular item you want that is not to hand can probably be obtained for you from the District Supplies Officer.