It was a spring-like 75 degrees and sunny when we all gathered inside our various homes and offices for the weekly meeting. Hopefully, people were able to get out and enjoy the day after we concluded. The pre-meeting conversation was varied with some back and forth trying to get our guest speaker on to the Zoom meeting.
Eventually we were successful, and President Bob got us started by reciting the pledge and then the 4-way test. We had one guest aside from our speaker. Tom Reynolds is a Rotarian from the Ledyard club, but is working at MCC.
Caring moments: Dick McCarthy's rehab is going well. His exit from the facility is delayed due to a Covid quarantine though. Hopefully will be home soon. Bob Wood is home but still in the process of getting a full diagnosis. Other 
members have been helping him to get around to his various doctors’ appointments. June birthdays include Ruth Sheehan and Bill Flynn. June Rotary Anniversaries include Chuck Clarke, Marc Glass, Connor Martin, Ray Maselek, Ruth Sheehan, and Jim Watts.
members have been helping him to get around to his various doctors’ appointments. June birthdays include Ruth Sheehan and Bill Flynn. June Rotary Anniversaries include Chuck Clarke, Marc Glass, Connor Martin, Ray Maselek, Ruth Sheehan, and Jim Watts.Announcements:
- The golf tournament is scheduled for Sept 20th. Lots of work to do to put this on so please consider joining the golf committee to help out.
- The club installation is June 16 at Goodwin University. Cost is $15 per person. Ceil Collins is taking registrations.
- The District Installation is at the AquaTurf on June 24. You can register on the district web site : Register
Our speaker today was Herb Klotz, who is the Zone 32 Coordinator for 2021 - 2024. If you did not know, the Zone Coordinator is essentially the Membership Chair for the zone, and Herb gave a great presentation on how to retain and grow club membership. As you are aware, the East Hartford club has experienced a steady decline in membership over the past 10 years, but Herb gave us several examples of clubs with a similar pattern that were able to turn it around. His suggestions included an initial focus on Member Engagement by reexamining Club Culture, providing Alternate Experiences and Meaningful Projects, holding Family Events and being Flexible. Attraction of new members should include social media as well as events where people can learn more about Rotary but provide some other purpose as well. Rotary is a soft sell. Top reasons for Membership Growth include clear membership goals WITH a plan. Strong public image campaign with active social media activity. Membership attraction events such as business mixers. Flexibility in membership types, attendance, etc. The most successful reason for grow is due to Alternative meetings and creation of Satellite clubs.
Until next week,
Wes