Our Greeter this morning was Dr. Ray Stock and he did an excellent job.
President Herb rang the bell at 7:30 a.m. Dale Heffner gave a very nice invocation.
GUESTS: Keith Koepke, Bob Halsey (Emmaus RC), Jim Palmquist (Emmaus RC), Dave Dries (Spring Township RC) and Chris Blechschmidt, guest of Herb Klotz.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Gloria said they really could use some help at the Snack Packing that begins again at Northwestern Lehigh SD today at 2:15 P.M.
Our next Thursday evening meeting is TOMORROW September 10th at 5:30 PM at the Holiday Inn in Breinigsville.
Friday September 11th is the Tempting Tastes II first planning meeting and it will be at the Jordan Lutheran Church in Orefield starting at 7:30 a.m.
Friday September 25th is our next AWRC Dining Out and it will be at Louie’s, one of our Tempting Tastes sponsors.
The Ontelaunee Park work detail is scheduled for Saturday September 26th: see Dan Crane.
Herb encourages us all to attend the Wednesday regular breakfast meeting on September 30 to get a Sierra Leone update from Charles Ishmael and Father Peter Konteh.
The Rodale Park work detail is scheduled for Saturday October 10th; see Dan Crane.
The Halloween Party at the Miracle League is October 21st. Volunteers are needed. Tell Dale Heffner.
Volunteers are needed at the Lowhill Food Pantry for Sept 5th and the 16th and 17th. It is very rewarding.
Herb announced that Chad Butters is implementing a plan for AW Rotarians to get the most out of the latest social media tools.
TODAY the International Committee, and the Membership Committee will meet after this one.
GOLF OUTING -- The Emmaus RC is holding their Golf Outing at Brookside CC on Monday September 14th.
President Herb asks us all to e-mail him about any announcements to be made at future meetings so he can include them as part of his planned agenda.
Next week our scheduled Greeter is Dale Utt and the program will be Carl Zvanut, Leaser Lake Foundation giving a Leaser Lake Update.
PURPLE PINKIE SCORESHEET:
Herb introduced a list of goals to measure our progress in having a successful 5K Race for Polio Eradication:
8 of the planned 200 runners have registered.
We have $1,250 Corporate Sponsors; the goal is > $5,000.
5 other RCs have committed to partner with us. We want 10 or more.
We have zero door prize gifts; we need 25.
We have 8 event volunteers and need 30.
MY ROTARY:
One goal this year is to have EVERY AW member go onto the RI website rotary.org and click on “My Rotary” and set up an account with a password. So far we have 20 of us registered. Please do it; it takes 5 minutes and counts towards this year’s RI Presidential Citation.
RI FOUNDATION MINUTE:
David Caccese our RI Foundation Chair distributed some flyers about E.R.E.Y. [Every Rotarian, Every Year ] and said that this year’s goal is at least $10,000 to the Annual Fund. He reminds us that 50% of the district annual donations will come back to D730 and will fund Grants like ours for Snack Packs.
David mentioned that AWRC matches up to $200 in donations so we get credit for $400 for tax purposes and for Paul Harris Fellow recognition.
ROTARIAN of the WEEK:
The AW “Rotarian of the Week” is Mike Gschwendtner our Vice President and Membership Chair. Mike is a Field Engineer for Siemens International. Mike joined AW Rotary in 2010. He also coordinates our Camp Neidig (RYLA) activities each year. Mike and Dana are a host family for the inbound Youth Exchange students. He was most proud of the amazing amount of net proceeds raised from our first Tempting Tastes event.
LUCK of the DRAW:
The door prize donated by Ray was a vase of lovely flowers and a gift certificate for Wegmans, and it was won by Bill Palmer. Then Ihor Fedoriw won a bottle of rye whiskey donated by Chad Butters.
The $44 pot of the 50:50 was not won by Jeff Kistler who selected a white marble.
FINES:
S-a-A Don Davis fined himself for opening with a bad joke.
HAPPY DOLLARS:
Mike G. is happy to report that his daughter is attending Parkland and is competing in cross-country running.
Chuck said that he and Judy had a marvelous visit with family in London, England last week.
Bill Weber reports that he and Sue had a fabulous evening yesterday taking Y.E. student Michaela to dinner. Sue added how interesting and entertaining Michaela is. Be sure to meet her.
Geoff Legg was pleased that while in Port Jefferson on Long Island, his grandkids got to meet a ballpark groundskeeper and see his championship rings.
Herb and Ronnie had a great visit in Chicago last week.
Ernie – with a smile – said that Sandi and he are off to Arizona for three months.
PROGRAM:
President Herb introduced our District 7430 Governor Nominee, Rick Gromis, who is the District Membership Chair this Rotary year. He is a member of the Spring Township RC. Rick was born and raised in the Reading area and he has a BS in Economics and Business Administration. His wife Susan is the current President of the Birdsboro Rotary club.
Rick has worked in the Banking industry for 30 years, and in 2012 became CEO of a start-up company. He joined the Spring Township RC in 2006, has been its President, and served as Area 4 Assistant Governor for 3 years. He will be our District Governor for the 2017-18 Rotary year.
Rick is here today as the District 7430 Membership Chair to share some ideas about membership in Rotary. He refers to the “3Rs.” In this case they stand for Recruit, Retain, and Revitalize.
Rick congratulates AW Rotarians for recognizing that all of us are the AW Membership committee. He said that adding new members is very important and we need some younger ones to carry us forward. He showed a picture of a Dan Crane park work crew as an example of one person doing all the work and others watching, hiding or walking away. Cute.
Rick says that there is no “silver bullet” available to improve on membership. But it’s noteworthy that less than 30% of all Rotarians ever ASK someone to join. He believes that we think of asking as selling, and are distressed by rejection. In truth, when we ask someone to join Rotary we are sharing a great gift.
Rick suggests that instead of asking candidates to consider Rotary, we start by asking “Why aren’t you a Rotarian?” This mostly gets a response asking to know more about us.
Rick suggests one early answer is to say “Rotary is not for everybody.” “Come to a meeting and see if you fit in.” And a good response when candidates say that they are too busy, is to say “Good. Busy people get things done.” He said that membership is not easy,…but it’s not complicated either.
When it comes to Member retention, Rick says it is important to keep things relevant. He held up an old slide rule and said we cannot live in the past. We must keep evolving. And we need younger members. About 70% of Rotarians are over 50 years old. And about 50% of the world is under 30 years old !
Rick believes that some clubs may have to change how they meet. The hours, the time, and the costs have to make sense. The idea of a “Happy Hour” club may appeal to younger members. Rotary started as a networking club by four men in their early thirties. And networking still is a reason for joining.
Rick closed saying Rotary clubs cannot stand still. You can throw in the towel………….or use it to wipe the sweat from your face.
CLOSING:
Halyna hit the right note to start a rendition of “God Bless America.” This was followed by the recitation of the Pledge to the Flag of the United States and then the saying “One profits most who serves the best.”
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ocus on membership for our Club. 
