Rotary is about Service Above Self and building community.   One of the great things about being part of a large club is the quality of speakers we bring to you.  The down side is that in a smaller club, the members usually know each other much better.  With our new format of speakers during a lunch meeting  three times a month with an array of optional activities, we hope to have the best of both worlds. In addition, on our club will be more visible in the community and learn even more about it.

 

Participating in an event that suits your schedule and interests is highly encouraged.  For a member to have 100% Rotary attendance means being part of Rotary four times a month or drawing upon your meeting Makeup Bank.  There is a wide range of events from which to choose, all of which will qualify for a meeting or makeup.   For example, in July, a member could go to the Rotary PolioPlus Tides baseball game, take a guided tour through Elmwood Cemetery, enjoy a casual evening listening to big band music at Ocean View Beach Park, see two Rotary grants in action, enjoy an afternoon at the Chrysler Museum listening to poetry or participate in a hand-on community service project.  Each event welcomed family and friends, too.

 

Our club’s Makeup Bank is another innovation of our participation in Rotary International’s pilot program.  Attending a Rotary event or meeting counts as a meeting for one year from the date of the program attended.   Previously, meeting makeups were only allowed on two weeks prior to or after a missed club meeting.  In addition to luncheon meetings and events you can make up a meeting by attending our club’s monthly board meeting, a committee meeting or another Rotary Club’s meeting. You could also go to Rotary training or makeup a meeting online. 

 

Here are a couple of examples of how our new Makeup Bank will help our members.

 

CPAs Steve Jones and Angela Kerns are often challenged to attend meetings during tax season.  But now they can attend various Rotary programs through the year, put them in the Makeup Bank and then when tax season comes, utilize them for their attendance.

 

I have summer travel plans that will take me out of town for several weeks.  I have been busy doing a variety of things which will go into my personal “Makeup Bank.” So far I have attended the:

 

                Polio Plus ballgame on July 20.

                Board meeting on July 21.

                Twilight tour of Elmwood Cemetery on July 24.

                Big Bands on the Bay on July 26. 

 

The first of these activities (the Polio Plus ballgame) will be used to satisfy the attendance requirement for July 28.  The others can be used while I am traveling during August.     

 

I didn’t attend these activities because I was forced to go.  I wanted to be there, and I enjoyed them very much.  The fact that I got to share the time with some of my fellow Rotarians made it even better.