‘Rotary would be a much stronger force if we insist that potential members are considered on the basis of all the requirements of the avenues of service that we must cover.’

The article in Rotary Down Under (February, 2005) by R.I. Past President Clem Renouf and the letter in the April, 2005, issue from Past President Vic Wise, of the Rotary Club of Dural, N.S.W., covered many of the aspects of Rotary which have exercised my mind over several years.

When inducted into Rotary nearly 50 years ago, I was young and considered myself privileged to have been chosen to be a Rotarian.

The aims and objectives of Rotary were something special and I remember that District governors of those early years seemed to concentrate on the important qualities that made Rotary stand out as a worldwide organisation.

It was stressed that the strengths of the Rotary World were closely related to the careful selection of prospective members.
Clubs strengths were closely related to the principle of consisting of a cross-section of the community in which it operated. Hence, in recent years Rotary membership has been broadened to include women in this cross-section.

The Object of Rotary clearly sets out what a new Rotarian needs to understand. It is not a dinner club on each week if you felt like it.

The rules make it quite clear that there is a range of responsibilities which have to be accepted.

Over the years, and at a pace which seems to be gathering speed, the degree of the responsibilities have been lowered. Maintaining an acceptable attendance record has been significantly slackened. No longer is it required to attend either your club each week, or another within one week each side of your meeting.

The “cross-section” of the community seems to have gone by the board. And so on.

First we had the “85 years” rule so that I and many others do not count. In our club we can get a 100 per cent attendance with nearly one-third away. Then, no matter how long a Rotarian has left a business or profession, active membership is retained. No Senior Active, etc.

Of all the proposals advanced for consideration by the Council of Legislation, a huge majority are related trying to make it easier to be a Rotarian. And gradually and insidiously it has been made easier. Apparently, in the quest to increase numbers.

It may now be easier to gather members, but it is not working, as both Clem Renouf and Vic Wise have pointed out. And not only is it not working, but also we now have a weaker organisation than we had 50 or even 30 years ago.

Is it now time for us to begin the process of regrouping. Certainly, the number of Rotarians in clubs, in Districts, in regions and in the world is important. But not at the expense of throwing away the basics of what Rotary is.

At the recent District Conference, one Rotarian, in the Soapbox session, decried the notion that Rotary should be elite, claiming that in his club, anyone who was interested in community work, was inducted.

Well, I do not think Rotary is or should be elite, but only one of the qualities required to be a Rotarian, is an interest in community affairs.

Some others are being a leader in a business or profession, being prepared to be the representative of that business or profession in the club, to be of good standing in the community, having a concern for aims of the range of Rotary programs and to believe that being a Rotarian will provide an opportunity to have an influence.

If being elite means that we do not fill clubs with just anybody, then I think that we should be elite. And I think that Rotary would be a much stronger force if we insist that potential members are considered on the basis of all the requirements of the avenues of service that we must cover.

This, I think would be a far better approach than the apparently, mad scramble for numbers in which we seem to be engaged.
David Tuckwell
Past President
Rotary Club of Campbelltown, S.A., previously Rotary Club of Mount Gambier, S.A.

IPAC – RAWCS Funding - DODO
It must have been 10 years ago or more that the then Chairman of International Projects Advisory Committee (IPAC), Barry Lange, a past District governor from southern Victoria, appalled me by suggesting that “This will be the death of this program!” Now I publicly apologise to him for doubting his insight.

The “this” he was referring to seemed to me just a minor change. First, the elimination of the term IPAC, which had served Rotary in Australia for more than 20 years, by changing the name to “RAWCS Funding” thereby enhancing the stature of RAWCS and making the term so much more comprehensible to the average Rotarian. (Oh, yes??)

Second, the elimination of the annually published IPAC booklet, which listed all the approved and recommended overseas projects deserving support from Australian clubs. These booklets, one for each club and one for District officers, were paid for and distributed by each District.

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