West U Rotary Club
Feb 9, 2010
Minutes of the Board of Directors and Officers
Officers, Directors and Visitors: X =Present
Name/Position / JUL / AUG / SEP / OCT / NOV / DEC / JAN / FEB / MAR / APR / MAY / JUNRonnie Hallenberger-Pres / X / X / X / X / X / X / X / X
John Collier – Pres Elect / X / X / X / X / X
Don Raskin – Vice Pres / X / X / X / X / X / X / X
Linda Holter -Secretary / X / X / X / X / X / X
Cecile Schutter – Board Sec. / X / X / X / X / X / X
Dee Ullrich – Past Pres. NoVote / X / X / X / X / X / X / X / X
George Adams - Treasurer / X / X / X / X / X / X / X
Board members:
Honey Leveen / X / X / X / X / X / X
Kathy Kokas - International / X / X / X / X / X / X
Clarence Miller / X / X / X / X / X / X
Jerry Gips / X / X / X / X / X / X
Greg Faldyn / X / X / X / X / X / X
Philip Bryant - PR / X
Carl Stutts / X / X / X
Sharon Williams / X / X / X / X / X / X
Terry Ziegler – Polio (1yr) / X / X / X / X / X / X / X / X
Michael Larsson / X / X / X / X / X / X / X
Vanessa Lanceley Hauser (1yr) / X / X / X / X / X / X / X / X
Vivian Dawson / X / X / X / X / X
Visitors:
Philip Maybry
Gene McFaddin
Carol Gradziel
Dan O'Dell
Kevin James
Robin Lowe
Clyde Williams
Bob Geary
Meeting called to order by President Ronnie Hallenberger 7:00 am.
Minutes from Jan 12, 2010: The minutes were submitted by Cecile Schutter.
No other changes suggested. Motion to accept: Terry Ziegler; second by Greg Faldyn. Approved by acclamation.
Club Secretary's Attendance/Membership Report: Linda Holter – Michael Koerner paid his dues so he is back on the roster, but Scott Jordan was removed as he should not have been placed on as he has not paid dues and is now in New Zealand for four months.
Loss of members: 0
Net membership: 102
Membership Committee: John Collier. John thanks Dee for taking the initiative with the new business cards for members to give out. The new cards have an offer for a complimentary breakfast.
John wants to increase Membership Moments – snippets.
We're gotten more long term visiting Rotarians so we need to include them in our activities. Joe from Pennsylvania finds us the most welcoming and inclusive club he has ever visited.
New Member recommended for board approval: none
Treasurers Report: George Adams, Treasurer
Jan 31, 2010- Operating Account $3,594.54
Jan 31, 2010 - Money Market Account $29,861.53 total (plus petty cash) $33,606.07
West U Rotary Club Foundation (WURCF): Russ Schulze, Treasurer – not present, no report.
Jan 31, 2010 – Checking Account $.
Jan 31, 2010 – Money Market Account $. Total, including restricted funds (Caring Friends and the Water Committee) $.
International Service – Kathy Kokas – no report – out sick today.
Jerry Gips reports that he and Cecile Schutter will be meeting with EWB Houston Central on being a host for a future grant in Kenya for a water project.
A second possible grant project with Nicaragua on building a school. Other partner clubs are Willowbrook and Houston Sunrise.
GSE: Ronnie gave an update on the progress of the details of the GSE team from India.
Terry gave an update on our exchange student Juliette. Her parents will be visiting a short while and taking a side trip. There will be an extra book sorting day, March 27th, from 10-12.30 and will involve the students of Episcopal High School and the Bellaire Southwest Club.
Community Service – Sharon Williams and Manesh Shah – new bagel project.
Clarence Miller – Rice University Scholarship: The application is on-line and the word is getting out. No applications at this time but are not expected at this point.
Vivian Dawkins – RYLA . The date is Feb 28, 2010 and West U has 3 candidates to attend, including Terry's daughter, Kelsey.
Vocational Service – Carol Gradziel. SAW will be held at Pershing HS in conjunction with Club Mid of the YMCA. Bellaire SW will be participating. Dates will be April 5,7,12,21,26 and 28 from 4:00 – 5:15pm
The choice of an after school program rather than during school times has worked out for everyone involved.
The Thrift Shop at The Women's Home needs more help in sorting items.
Polio Plus Campaign: There will be a Million Dollar Dinner on May 16, 2010 to raise $1 million for TRF both the annual fund or Polio Plus fund. Terry will continue to provide additional information.
District Conference April 22-24, 2010. Posey will be organizing the “buddy system” to encourage new members to attend by buddying up with a club member who has been before. Club will subsidize half the fee of $90.00.
New Business:
WULL Challenger League opening day is March 6, 2010. WURC mans the concession booth on Sundays during the season. Very popular community service project so priority is given to those who are first time helpers. Dick Cancelmo coordinates.
Bob Geary reports a new Blood Drive May 27, 2010 and the golf tournament (date TBA). The YMCA will be the benefactor for this year.
Club 15th Anniversary has been announced. Save the date May 9, 2010 at the Southside Community Club thanks to the hard work of George Adams in organizing. Posey is taking care of the entertainment and food interests and Cecile is collecting and organizing the history.
Don Raskin is working on trying to get a new lapel speaker-mike.
Club strengths and weaknesses: Lead by Terry Ziegler
Here are the results of this morning's question about our club's strength's & weaknesses. We will discuss our options for capitalizing on our strengths and minimizing our weaknesses at a later board meeting.
Our strengths include our:
High level and variety of service projects, quality of fellowship, quality of organization/infrastructure, inclusiveness, ability to make a difference in our community & world, strength of our relatively large numbers for both WUR & RI, deep leadership bench, friendliness to visitors, our programs which help make ours a fun club to attend.
Our weaknesses include our:
Weak membership retention, lack of contact with missing members (may be better now than in the past), older average age, less active members may be intimidated by the more active ones, attendance requirements, lack of Rotary education opportunities, lack of WUR & RI PR, lack of focus due to large variety of available service projects.
From: Kevin James <>
To: Ronnie Hallenberger <>
Sent: Tue, February 9, 2010 9:33:52 AM
Subject: Follow Up to Directors' Meeting
Ronnie,
After thinking more about the discussion that was held this morning, I think that there are a few things that act as “barriers to entry,” if you will, for younger prospective Rotarians that, if nothing else, should be recognized.
Education
As we talked about when I met with you in the beginning, I really didn’t know what Rotary was. As someone said in their vocation/introduction talk, I recognized it only as a sign on the city limits of small towns that had something to do with community service.
Money
I know this was discussed at length, but it truly is a barrier. To be very honest, the only way I am able to be part of the club is that my boss sponsors me. $345 every 6 months is a sizable sum, especially to folks at my level. I truly believe that being sponsored by the bank is the exception and not the rule for most young professionals and most likely won’t go on forever. Also, right now, I think people are watching every dollar which makes it harder.
Schedule
As I mentioned, once again I am able to be part of Rotary because my boss supports me and gives me time off to attend. Again, I don’t think this is common. Most folks at my level, while not all are technically hourly, are expected to show up to work by 8am and then leave when the work is done – but most likely not earlier than 5pm – and take a 1 hour lunch. While the meeting is in the morning – often making it easier, I believe this is still a barrier.
Stage in Life
As pointed out most of the members are in their 40’s or above. I think that my peer group and a bit older have different schedules, different priorities, and different responsibilities. While most of these differences are captured above, I think it is an important point. As mentioned in the meeting, people are still focused on their careers, which means that they are probably working more, spending time networking, etc.
Location
The last thing I think should be pointed out is that there are probably very few people in my peer group that can afford to live in or around West U. My wife and I were in an apartment in the area and recently bought a house that while it isn’t that far from West U/Bellaire, it still is about 15 minutes (or more) away, and is far enough that you are more removed from the community. I think this is important in that so much of the purpose and focus of Rotary is the local community.
Anyway, these are just some thoughts that were going through my head after leaving the meeting. While some of this “barriers” can be mitigated, others, I think, just should be recognized and considered when looking for new members and focusing efforts.
All the best
Kevin James
Phone Duty:
Feb 1 – 15 Greg Faldyn
Feb 15 – 28 Sharon Williams
Mar 1 – 15 Vivian Dawkins
Mar 16 – 31 Cecile Schutter
Apr 1 – 15 Ronnie Hallenberger
Apr 16 – 30 Linda Holter
May 1 – 15 Vanessa Hauser
May 16 – 31 Terry Ziegler
Jun 1 – 15 Marvin Beasley
Jun 16 -30 Philip Bryant
Meeting Adjourned: 8:05 AM