My Rotary Moment: You Need to Ask
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By
9920 PDG Willard Martin
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| Rally New Zealand [2012] leader Sébastien Loeb in flying form during one of the special stages held in Northland. Photo credit: Alan McDonald |
Why did I join
the Rotary Club of Ellerslie Sunrise in Auckland, NZ 27 years ago in
1988?
I was involved
in motorsport, and Ellerslie Sunrise Rotary had a fundraiser called Drive a
Dream. It was the chance to visit the Pukekohe Race Track and drive
bendy buses, trucks and forklifts to compete in a Motorkhana, and have a ride
in a race car around the track, that was good fun and a great fundraiser.
I can still
remember my friend Grahame Knight asking me to join Rotary. He had to ask
me several times before I got into action! I enjoyed the speakers at meetings, served on
committees, was the club Treasurer, and became President in 2005-2006.
In 2011, I was
privileged to attend the inaugural multi-district South Pacific Presidents
Elect Training Seminar (SPPETS) as an Assistant Governor for then District 9920
Governor Alan Eyes when my eyes were opened to the world of Rotary.
Rotary
International President Ron Burton when presenting his theme for 2013-2014 Engage
Rotary and Change Lives at International Assembly in San Diego made the
point that you have to ask. You - not the person sitting next to you, or the
person in charge of the Membership Committee, or someone else who you might
think would be better at it, or who maybe has more time. Membership is not
someone else’s job - it’s my job, it’s your job, it’s every Rotarian’s
opportunity.
So you have to
ask. You need to find those people who are waiting to be asked, find the people
who never thought about Rotary, and let them know that you’d like to have them
in your club. If you do a good job, and they say yes, and they become members,
your job isn’t over. It’s only just beginning, because you need to mentor them,
make sure that they find a meaningful role in your club so they get
satisfaction out of Rotary.
What you go out and
achieve this Rotary year is in your hands, because all the good things that we
achieve in Rotary depends on our clubs, but it is your leadership, your
members, how well you choose your projects, how you work with The Rotary
Foundation and polio eradication, new generations and every other programme of
Rotary that will make the difference.
My club has its
own theme which I adopted for District 9920 when I was governor in 2013-2014 - Feel
Good while Doing Good. This is what Rotary is all about.
Who will you
invite to join Rotary?
