RIBI Leadership Assembly 2017 General Session 1 President Elect Denis Spiller Keynote Speech Fellow Rotarians, Fellow leaders of Rotary in Great Britain and Ireland, welcome to the RIBI Leadership Assembly for the Rotary year 2017/18. It is an honour to welcome Rotary International President Elect Ian Riseley and Juliet all the way from the Rotary Club of Sandringham, Victoria in Australia. Ian is an accountant, which I am sure he will remind you of. The DGEs will I know join me in congratulating Ian and Juliet on a magnificent and inspirational Assembly held last month in San Diego. It s a tough gig, but someone has to do it and I do hope that you all get your chance to experience it in time. From local club member, to district team member, to DG and onwards, I have discovered that Rotary life is about joining a sequence of Rotary clubs making ever increasing circles of friends on the way. Becoming an AG is a big leap and as AG you have the chance to get closer to clubs than in any other Rotary role. So if you are in your first, second, or third year, I congratulate you and need to advise you that your work, in your area is about to become more vital to Rotary than ever before. When you become DGNN, you start what seems like a long journey to DG. I must tell you it will be the fastest 3 years of your life. In Great Britain and Ireland we have a huge challenge that the people in this room all have to grasp with both hands and run with. It s a challenge not unique to Rotary in these islands, but it is our challenge never the less, because we live here. In San Diego a young speaker took a leap into the future as a young researcher looking into voluntary service groups. It was 2030, the year, not the time, whilst in a library researching voluntary groups she came across a report about a wonderful organisation, that had global presence and membership, it built schools and dug wells, it changed the lives of millions of children and it resolved conflicts, it brought sanitation to the needy and restored the sight to the blind. It helped communities around the world and just ten years before, it eradicated polio from the world. But it s members grew old, it didn t change and just quite recently. It closed its doors. There is an alternative future that she saw on a parallel visit to the library. She saw that Rotary had re-invented itself that clubs had grasped the nettle, change was adopted and now on the back of Polio eradication, Rotary was embarked on even greater works with a global recognition only dreamed of by members 10 years before. the world is changing and needs are changing and Rotary is changing. Some audience participation I think Who is still watching TV on an old CRT set?
Who does not have use of a mobile phone? Who does not have access to email? Who can remember just 30 years ago, when communicators, flat screens and electronic messages were futuristic ideas seen just in Star Trek? Who can remember what you had for breakfast today? - Oh good. The rate of change is rapid Children born even in the 80 s and 90 s have not known a world without the internet They have never had to wait for the 10 o clock news They have no idea about pounds shillings and pence They cannot remember never being able to text a message And already these people are the new doctors, lawyers and teachers of this very day. They are our future members. They are in their 20 s and 40 s and the type of members Paul Harris had in mind a century ago. A mobile phone today is regarded as essential as a pencil sharpener was 50 years ago. If your pencil was blunt, you were stuffed. If your battery is flat, you are stuffed. I am from the Baby boomer generation and if we were all from the same then our problems might be 10 years hence and perhaps someone else s problem. Today, we are in fact picking up the problem that began 20 years ago when Rotary clubs in GB and I were actually doing very well and for a long time took their eyes off of the recruitment plan, not recognising that the membership was becoming older and less attractive to newer younger members by the day. Good News We know and understand the issue. More Good News We are doing things about it, and every one of you will have a key role to play in the re-generation of Rotary in Great Britain and Ireland Scouting re-invented itself and is the most successful uniformed youth organisation in the world. The WI re-invented itself and multiplied its membership including many younger ladies. How did they do it? Well many of you are I am quite sure sleeping with members of the WI, so maybe a little pillow talk will reveal their secret. But anyway, we have invited the leadership of WI to talk to us at conference next on just this subject. Past RIBI President Allan Jagger was my president in 2007/8 and he tells a great story of his visit to a club in Yorkshire.
An older member was on a table on his own, in his usual seat waiting for his friends. Alan said to him Eeee thou must have seen a lot of change in your time in Rotary. The answer came Ay lad, and I ve resisted every one of them. We all recognise these people, but as long ago as 2500 years Heraclitus a Greek Philosopher said There is nothing permanent except change. And It is also said that the only thing that enjoys change is a wet baby. Change must be managed. And Encouraged by initiatives like Rotary GO and Visioning, Clubs are changing. For goodness sake, I go to clubs where they don t wear ties anymore! Heaven forbid. I go to clubs where they don t have a meal, they meet in several venues at different times and they attract different members to each venue. No Grace, No Loyal toast, no wine draw, no charity box. They meet in Costa, They meet online. There are no rules that dictate we must do these things Newsflash these groups are working despite all who said they would not. Actually, we are even being told that the word Club itself is not an attractive proposition to younger people. It is too elitist, so some groups, are now presenting themselves as Rotary in Brighton for example and taking away that implied exclusivity of the club. When asked direct about making fundamental changes to what and how we do things, 15/16 Rotary International President Ravi said If you don t want to hear the answer then don t ask the question We have permission to change, to be flexible and innovative even if a little at a time. But a little at a time is too slow. We all know clubs that are on a slow descending spiral. We all know clubs that are growing. What is the difference between them? Vibrancy and relevance to new members. We all know of satellite clubs, but how many do we have in total on the simmer 20. 40. 50? This will not stem the losses of calls to higher service. Fellow Rotarians we need 200. 250 satellites on the go by the end of 2017/18. That s just 10 per district, say 1 per AG area,
and that Assistant Governors is your challenge. How many adults live in an AG area? 100,000. 300,000.. 500,000? And we need just 10-20 like-minded people to form a club. That s point 0 2 of 1% or less of the adult population. They do exist and we just need a product that is attractive to them. For want of a better name, I am calling this Rotary 2 A group that is local, or international project based A group that is family oriented A group that offers business networking to its members A group that takes full advantage of the new flexibility rules A group that offers social and Rotary opportunities A group that will attract the 20 50 year olds as well as the early retirees A group that offers the benefits of being part of Rotary International, such as Foundation funding, Insurance, global membership and friends for life We know that successful satellite sponsor clubs also benefit and grow as the satellite grows and so it is a win win for Rotary and the community. Supported by your clubs, your district team and the RIBI teams, this Governors and Assistant Governors is your challenge for the next 16 months, each to charter a new club, but let s not have them all in June 2018 I cannot finish without mentioning a special birthday. In July 2017 Foundation will be 100 years old C Klumph for Doing Good in the World established by RI President Arch A few Foundation facts Polio o $1bn assets in Endowment Fund with a target of 2bn by 2025. o $4.1b spend in 100 years o Rated 3rd by CNBC in top ten Charities that change the world o 4 star rating in the Charity Navigator and only 1% of charities have ever reached this level o $1.6 billion spent on Polio eradication. We are near to the end From 1000 case a day 31 years ago To 37 cases in 2016
3 cases 2017 YTD that places us still 36 months from the end of Polio, so please keep up the pressure to finish the job. To Conclude Rotary is all about opportunities Opportunity to meet and make friends Opportunity to grow and experience new things Opportunity to serve communities at home and abroad RIBI has done this for 103 years It s all about opportunities lost and opportunities taken. In 1985 Rotary grasped an opportunity to change the world, to eradicate polio. We are nearly there. In 2017 Rotary in Great Britain and Ireland must take this opportunity to Re-generate and grow our membership. The prize is a wonderful future for Rotary, The prize a wonderful future for those who need us in the local and international communities. You are all aware of the average age of our membership and so you can all calculate the cost of failure. The year 2016/17 is the year RI President John Germ declared the theme of Rotary serving Humanity. Last month in San Diego I was there when President Elect Ian announced the theme for 2017/18 as Rotary Making a Difference and that is exactly what we must continue to do. It was also in San Diego that a new Public Awareness campaign entitled People of Action was announced. My Rotary friends, we are people of Action, proven many times over, So in the most respectful way, I say go forth and multiply and make a difference. Thank you