One of the goals I set at the beginning of my term last July was to have the club be more involved in things at the District and Rotary International levels. As Tony Parziale found before me and Andy Mozumdar will find out after me, Rotary club presidents get inundated with a never-ending stream of initiatives, webinars, meetings, training sessions, awards and recognition pouring in from all over the Rotary universe. One of the key challenges for a club president is sifting through and prioritizing all this information because it’s simply impossible to act on it all.
As of this writing, I am 65.3846% done with my term (but who’s counting?) and, while I feel we’ve made some progress in connecting with the broader Rotary world, I think there is still room for significant improvement.
Let me discuss a specific idea that I wanted to implement but could not convince the Board to agree with me earlier this year during the Giving Budget process – fully funding the Every Rotarian Every Year (EREY) initiative. EREY means an annual commitment for a Rotary club to donate $100 per member to the Rotary Foundation (note, this is different than the foundation that is attached to our club). This year’s Giving Budget pegs the earmark for the Rotary Foundation at $1,000 (which amounts to $28.57 per person rather than the $100 target for EREY).
It’s not that the Board didn’t think giving to the Rotary Foundation is important, but rather, we don’t have an unlimited amount of money and it comes down to prioritization. My goal with this President’s Message is simply to reinforce the idea that club members are part of an international organization and not just a stand-alone local club. And that we as Rotarians should start paying a little more attention to the broader Rotary world beyond the metaphysical walls of the Rotary Club of Montgomery/Rocky Hill.
Before the end of my term (which is exactly 126 days away but, again, who’s counting?), I am going to try and get someone from the District to come and speak to us about the importance of the Rotary Foundation. Also, I have been making more of a concerted effort to put items in the Reveille that speak to issues and events in the broader Rotary world. I also ask that, from time to time, you either look through the Rotarian Magazine or visit the Rotary International website to get an idea of the types of projects Rotary International is working on. Rotary Foundation is rated 4 stars (out of 4) by Charity Navigator so you can take comfort that donations are being used efficiently.
You can get a better idea as to RI’s Areas Of Focus in by visiting the webpage on the Rotary International website HERE
Rotarically Yours,
Zoltan Nagy
President
Rotary Club of Montgomery/Rocky Hill (NJ)
Zoltan Nagy
President
Rotary Club of Montgomery/Rocky Hill (NJ)