What does a Rotary club designed by younger members look like?

By Gordon Matthews, past governor of District 6920 (Georgia, USA), Rotary Club of Savannah East

A panel of three young members spelled out for us the issues that block young people from joining Rotary during our spring assembly a few years ago — scheduling, cost of dues, and rules.

I’ve been active in developing leaders in our community and have worked with our Group Study Exchange teams in the past, so I know the energy and potential in this “under 40” generation that we need to tap for Rotary. But I’ve also seen several Rotary clubs try to do this with limited results, because they stayed too close to the traditional model and dues structure.

Breaking the mold

To break that mold, I asked the son of a fellow member to gather a group of young people in the metro area of Savannah to explore the idea of starting a new club. I told them their are really just a few rules – to meet weekly, pay dues, and train a president-elect. The rest are just a lot of traditions. They were directed to develop a format that would meet their needs.