Rotary is facing a membership crisis and is at a crossroads in many parts of the world, especially in North America,  John Hewko, the General Secretary of Rotary International, told 400 Rotary leaders at the Annual Zones 26 & 27 Institute last week in Spokane, WA.

The greatest challenge Rotary faces, Hewko said, is in membership. Globally, Rotary membership has remained flat at 1.2 million for the last 20-25 years, “and the only reason we haven’t lost membership is because our numbers have been growing in Asia, Africa and parts of eastern Europe. In North America, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and parts of Latin America, we have a membership crisis.”

For the first time in Rotary’s history, membership in North America has fallen below 30% of worldwide membership, and if present trends continue, it will be around 15% of the worldwide membership and Asia will have about 50%, he said.  “Particularly here in North America, we are facing a crisis.”  For the full story, visit our Website at www.landerrotary.com.

 

Lander Rotary’s service projects were well-represented at the Annual Zones 26 & 27 Institute in Spokane last week.   Cassy Venters gave a round-table presentation on the club’s Wind River Reservation Summer Adventure Bags program and was part of a plenary session panel on working with Native American cultures.  She also hosted a round-table presentation on the Rwandan Nurses Saving Lives Global Grant project and an information display in the House of Friendship.

 

The Lander community is invited to an evening of remembrance, prayer, and reflection on the 70th anniversary of the tragic death of former Lander resident and U.S. Senator Lester Hunt, who died by suicide on June 19, 1954, after being bullied and extorted by Senator Joseph McCarthy and others for political gain. The service will be held on Wednesday at 7:00 PM at Trinity Episcopal Church, 860 S. 3rd Street. Lander Rotarian Senator Cale Case and speakers from the Fremont County Suicide Prevention Task Force and others will address the ongoing challenges of political polarization, the importance of mental health awareness, and the critical need for compassion and community in our society.

 

Seven Lander Rotarians spread tarps, set up ladders, stirred large buckets of stain, and ran out loonngg roller poles to tackle the job of staining the ceiling of the gazebo in City Park on Friday, September 6 – and they got it done in about three hours!  Our thanks to Lisa Dawson (who organized the work crew and brought yummy peach cobbler and apple pie), and Ron Fossen, Bryan Neely, Jackie Nelson, Bill Alley, Joe Quiroz, and Jerry Venters, all of whom wore the stain afterwards!

 

Did you know that the easiest way to give to The Rotary Foundation (TRF) is through Rotary Direct?  Just designate $25, $50 or more each month to be automatically sent to TRF from your bank account or charged to a credit card.  If enough of us do that, we’ll make our $8,000 giving goal to the Annual Fund with ease!  Sign up on the Rotary International Website, rotary.org.