The Crowd Was Somewhat Thin -- August 31, 2006

ROTARY CLUB OF NEW CANAAN

BULLETIN -- AUGUST 31, 2006

The crowd was somewhat thin when President Robinson rang the bell at 12:13. This time might have been selected to increase late-fines for the horde of late comers. However, this amanuensis (look it up!) believes that we need to raid the club treasury to buy Nancy a new battery for her Timex. Ad did the prayer. No lawyers. No plumbers. No nothing. Ad needs new material.

To start the business portion of the meeting, Nancy rang the bell. Twice. Not one stellar ring, like preceding presidents have learned at "how-to-be-a-Rotary-president" school. Just two wimpy, little rings. I guess bell ringing was part of the ERA amendment which never passed. First, they wanted to vote. Next, they wanted to drive. Now it's bells.

This Rotary club is being kept in the dark about a lot of important things by our own administration. August 31 is the anniversary date of the Great Klondike International Outhouse Race and Bathroom Wall Limerick Contest. Outhouses on wheels are raced over a 1.5 mile course in Dawson City, Yukon. The awards ceremony is held at Diamond Tooth Gertie's gambling hall following the race. This didn't get mentioned in Nancy's remarks.

Today marks the birthdays of James Coburn, Richard Gere, Buddy Hackett, Van Morrison and Itzhak Perlman. Any mention? No.

In history, August 31 was again special for the Klondike. Gold was discovered in 1896.

We were, however, advised that "boogity-boogity" has been adopted by the NCHS cheerleading squad.

There were no guests. There were no visiting Rotarians. There was no program. Sgt. @ Arms Hobbs-the-younger reached into his pocket for some B material and came up with a handfull of sawdust and a couple of rusty nails. NO JOKE! Zip, nada, zilch. And no fines for the horde of late comers.

Rucci-the-elder bailed Scott out by telling us all how Ad has been able to maintain a crystal-clear memory over the years. It began with learning how to operate a very complicated radar unit in WWII. Then he memorized each and every section and subsection of the Infernal Revenue Codes of 1939 and 1954. He now hones his memory by making midnight snacks for Helen.

Hobbs-the-elder pointed out a huge screw up by this amanuensis (did you look it up yet?). Speaking, October 4, at 7:00PM in the NCHS will be former footballer Joe Ehrmann. Admission is free. "Season of Life" by Jeffery Marx will be on sale at the event and prior to the event at Elm Street Books.

At some point, David Rucci took the floor to talk about the Lobsterfest September 15 and 16. A sign-up sheet was passed around. It still has a lot of blanks on it. David's net message was show up and help! Recruit spouses, significant others or the world's cheapest form of labor, children, to make this a successful fund raiser.

Also, ticket sales are slow -- as they usually are in August.

Given that we had no guests, the topic of membership was addressed. The rules for introducing a new member have gotten lax in recent years. We've had an unsuccessful new member, without a sponsor, who filled out their own paperwork, and just showed up. That dog don't hunt! There needs to be a proposer.

Yes, we want the club to grow. But we want people who share our thoughts about community service. And, nobody with a fragile ego will long survive.

To spell this out in a little more detail, I've appended the minutes of the membership committee meeting held on the highest holy day, 2005. How the underscores got in there is beyond me.

Respectfully submitted,

Anne Diggs Taylor

3/17/05 Membership Meeting – New Canaan Rotary Club

Proposer should bring (not invite and then not show up) potential new member to the Club 4 to 6 times, making sure to sit at different tables and to introduce the prospect to as many members as possible.

During this period the proposer should never publicly say that the prospect is a potential new member. If the prospect is interested in, and/or being considered for, membership and is accepted nothing will have been gained or lost. If, on the other hand, an announcement of intention is made and, for whatever reason, the prospect does not join or is not accepted, embarrassment, discomfort and misunderstanding may result.

Prior to actually proposing the new member the proposer should review with the prospect the expectations that Rotary has for all members regarding attendance, participation decorum, etc. Membership is not for everyone. If potential members wish to join in order to pad their resumes, enhance their business prospects, etc. without making the necessary contributions, this is the time to find out.

The proposer should also explain our annual activities and elicit specific areas of interest. This is a good time to discover any interests we are not currently addressing, but which could be worthwhile additions to our portfolio. As we see weekly, someone with a passion who is well informed about virtually any subject can make it interesting and inspiring to others.

Assuming everything is in order at this juncture, the proposal should be completed and submitted.

The proposer should contact the president and alert him/her that the proposal is pending and pass on all areas of interest . The president should, at this time, start to consider what assignments to have ready in the event of a positive outcome.

The process should be as efficient as possible. The secretary should be poised to request from Rotary International the badge, pin, etc. so that the minimum possible time elapses between acceptance and the arrival of these materials.

At the earliest time the new member should be initiated. Whenever possible the proposer should do the honors. At this meeting every member should be encouraged to personally welcome the new member.

The president should direct the new member to arrive e few minutes early at the next four meetings to hand out the badges. Members should be instructed to make this process as painless as possible by introducing themselves. This is not intended as any sort of hazing, but rather as an opportunity for the new member and the old hands to become acquainted.

Also at the earliest possible meeting the new member should be asked to present his/her biography. The proposer can be helpful by alerting the new member to this eventuality and helping with format, content, etc. The new member is more easily remembered and integrated following a meaningful biographical talk.

The president should assign the new member to a task commensurate with his/her interests and introduce him/her to the current chair of that task (Lobsterfest, Chistmas dinner, etc.). If the new member has a special interest we are not currently addressing, this would be an appropriate time to address it. Perhaps, with some leadership and salesmanship, a new initiative this year or in the future would be possible.

In the event that the new member does not live up to his/her responsibilities the proposer should be contacted by the president to counsel the new member. If the proposer has done his/her job as he/she should have the new member should not be hearing anything new. This should merely be a reminder of what the new member was told by the proposer during the recruitment process.

Start looking for the next prospect.