1. Is it fun? YES, IT CAN BE FUN!

2. 2014 ROTARY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION Is it fun? Larry Long, Rotary Club of Fayetteville, Arkansas District 6110, USA larryou67@gmail.com Assisted by: Nancy Long District 6110 iPDG John Williams and Connie FIFTH 3. 2014 ROTARY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION Is it fun? (English) Gday mate, is it fun? (Australian) ? (Korean) (Thai) (Chinese) (Japanese) ? (Hindi) T s spraoi? (Irish) ? (Bulgarian) je to legrace? (Czech) elenceli mi? (Turkish) to jest zabawne? (Polish) ist es Spa? (German) is het leuk? (Dutch) Es divertido? (Spanish) divertido? (Portuguese) divertente? (Italian) il est amusant? (French) ? (Russian) ? (Ukrainian) er det sjovt? (Danish) on se hauskaa? (Finnish) er det morsomt? (Norwegian) r det kul? (Swedish) 4. FUN is LOL (laughing out loud) FUN is also enjoyable, entertaining, exuberance, merriment, inspirational, amazing, cool, and heartwarming FUN is the opposite of boring What is FUN? 5. 2014 ROTARY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION To be sure, having FUN at Rotary takes some extra effort, but it pays off, BIG TIME, in so many ways! 6. Smile and the world smiles with you, Sing a song. Don't be weary, Just be cheery all day long. Whenever your trials, Your troubles and your cares Seem to be more than you can really bear Smile and the world smiles with you, Sing a song. 7. What are Rotary Internationals priority issues? Growing Membership Membership retention MEMBERSHIP FUN GIVING FUN DOING GOOD IN THE WORLD FUN Getting SERIOUS about FUN Part 1 8. Most Rotarians are over 45 Is it FUN for people 25, 35, 45? Mostly no! We need to think about the next generation of Rotarians in all that we do Young people want FLEXIBILITY and FUN and they have plenty of options Rotarians must be competitive when it comes to FUN Getting SERIOUS about FUN Part 2 95, 26, 92, 93 years old 9. Why do we join Rotary? Networking, service, fellowship, great programs, and a place to eat, and so on Why do members leave Rotary? Too often, because it is no longer FUN? Getting SERIOUS about FUN Part 3 10. Boring aburrido, chato, , , , ennuyeux, langweilig, noioso, tyls, trkig, , and so on . Limited or no participation Rotary being only a place to eat Obnoxious and/or annoying members What is Not FUN? 11. Lets talk about having FUN! 12. The Club Photographer Meetings, Club Website, Club Newsletter, Club Bulletin, Facebook page, Public Relations 13. Women What what a great way to increase membership, retain members, and have more fun! 14. To inform and educate To relive important Rotary moments To honor people and events To communicate around the world And so much more Effective Use of the Projector: Use it ... 15. Opening Slide at Meeting 16. Traci Farrah Bob Hendrix Duane Wolf Suzanne Clark Nicolas Sasso Angela Seawood Williams Emily Rappe Jean-Louis Graham Kermit Baker Pat Aydelott Alan Long 17. Polio survivor Lewis Epley gives the gift of a polio-free life during National Immunization Day in India 18. The Pre-meeting Self-Running Slideshow 19. Kit Williams 20. Jim Stewart USAF Lt. Col., ret. Jim Stewart at the U.S. Naval Academy 21. The Meeting Facility Should Scream Rotary Display of club/district banners, flags of country, state Have a slideshow of images of Rotary meetings, events, and projects, and Rotarians Display Club/District banners from around the world Display recognition banners: past presidents, Paul Harris Fellows, and so on Place an RI theme banner, like Light Up Rotary, at the podium 22. The Meeting Facility Should Scream Rotary 23. The better the food and drink, the better the FUN Good food. Demand it. President or Food Committee provides regular feedback on menu, food quality, and service Food and Drink 24. Greeters with a big smile New members for at least a month Board members several times/year Someone responsible for scheduling greeters at every meeting, often the Sergeant-at-Arms Meet-and-greet minute: greet people around you with a warm hand shake, especially guests. Guests The Meeting: Some Basics 25. Encourage Colorful Members to be COLORFUL 26. A lifelong educator, this Rotarian gave tennis lessons to the Prince of Bahrain. Name three members our Club who have both a law degree and Ph.D. There are four. Who is this? 27. Random Praise (present solid gold-like Rotary medallion) Past President minute (name, theme, highlight) One-minute vignettes (personal stories of Rotary or their lives) That Rotary moment The 1-minute Interlude 28. Elements of a good program: variety, energy, emotional, laughter, inspirational, FUN There should be some oversight on programs: It is OK to say No. On occasion: Skip the program and do some business networking The Program 29. Club Competition: The Rotary Quiz Bowl 30. Club Competition: The Rotary Quiz Bowl 3 Clubs plus Rotaract, 3 members/team Questions taken from the last 3 Rotarian magazines Rooting for your club team and unusual Rotary behavior are absolutely encouraged The winner keeps the trophy and brags endlessly for a year 31. Club Special Interest Groups: motorcycles, Cog Hogs a cappella quartet, cycling, Ale Trail, fishing, bridge, etc. Once a month or so, have randomly assigned seating Encourage make ups at other Rotary clubs (34,000+ around the world) Mix It Up 32. 2014 ROTARY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION Celebration and Recognition 33. Celebrate Festivals and Special Days 34. Celebration on Special Days 35. Club Tradition: the up side and the down side 36. But, we have always done it this way! We can love and honor most of our traditions, but some tradition may have outlived their value to the club. Some traditions must change so that we are more inviting to future generations of Rotarians 37. Evaluate the way you do just about everything relative to future Rotarians Question #1: Is this a part of Rotary that my children or grandchildren will like? Question #2: If not, what can we do with it to make Rotary more inviting to my children or grandchildren? But, we have always done it that way! 38. Each year, examine each element of your club to determine if it is FUN If it is fun, dont worry about it If it is not fun Can it be made fun? Do we need it? But, we have always done it that way! 39. Of course, projects and fundraisers should be of benefit to mankind But, they also must be attractive to current and future Rotarians Club Projects and Fundraisers 40. Rotary International is INTERNATIONAL 41. Antique automobiles Beer Wine Canoeing Cooking Cricket Jazz Latin culture Lawyers Motorcycling Photography PDGs Jazz Latin culture Magicians Singles Tennis Travel and hosting And many more 42. The Speakers Gift: Something Unique and FUN 43. And Finally, Engage Rotary and Light Up Rotary 44. Alphabetize members by where they were born On fifth meeting of month, just socialize Have a happy news meeting Make up songs to nursery rhymes Sergeant of arms wear different hats Give a weekly gift to a member Service Above Selfies Toast a different club around the world (perhaps Skype them during a meeting) Is It Fun? Ideas From the Floor 45. Three truths and a lieclub votes to determine lie Rent a party bus as an alternative to a regular meeting The 3-Way test: Is it fun? Will anybody get hurt? Will anybody find out? Members assigned a country, then each gives a Rotary perspective for their countries at a meeting Invite members to fund 30 immuizations Focus on women:aAll dress as females at holiday party Food bank project: accumulate, then donate 1000 lbs of food Is It Fun? Ideas From the Floor 46. Members stand and tell other members what you did not know about me. Announce a secret greeter, then surprise members with a special non-member greeter. Have a backwards meeting: do meeting in reverse Guess This Rotarian Game: Start listing things about a particular Rotarian until the members can identify him/her (most obscure first) Have a mystery meeting: dont announce program and plan something special Is It Fun? Ideas From the Floor 47. Speed networking fundraiser: charge people $20 to participate Have local Rotaract and/or Interact clubs plan and conduct the meeting Appreciation meetings: Invite all sponsors and others external people who have made contributions to the club to a special Appreciation Meeting Present a humorous and/or pompous award on occasion to provide a bit of club levity Is It Fun? Ideas From the Floor 48. Please evaluate this session Complete session evaluation and download session resources with the convention mobile app! https://guidebook.com/app/rotary