A Regional Council first!
By Dallas Booth
Having officially started on 1 January 2024, the Regional Council is moving full steam ahead to ensure we’re not only ready for the full implementation of the Pilot’s operating model in July, but that we’re also ready to serve you – the clubs and members of Rotary and Rotaract.
As part of the process of getting up and running, we held our first ever board meeting on Tuesday 9 January. This was an important first for the Council: such meetings are a great chance for us to coordinate, share ideas and lessons learnt, identify risks and opportunities, make key decisions, plan ahead, and ensure we’re on track to meet our goals.
From now on, we’ll hold monthly board meetings to keep us on course as we strive towards our ultimate aim: to work with clubs to extend the reach and impact of Rotary and Rotaract in Zone 8.
Key priorities identified and discussed in our first board meeting include:
Ensuring the roles and responsibilities of the Regional Council, Rotary Community Leaders, District Governors, Rotary Specialists and clubs are clearly defined so all parties can work together to achieve their goals.
Making sure the Regional Council is ready for the transition of key functions to the Pilot operating model, including public image, membership, DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) and Interact.
Developing new and innovative strategies to attract members to Rotary and Rotaract.
While our task as Zone 8’s first ever Regional Council is somewhat daunting, it’s also incredibly exciting.
This will be a huge learning process. We’re doing things that haven’t necessarily been done in Rotary before. To some extent, therefore, we are sailing uncharted waters. However, we will be guided by Rotary’s traditions and values, and the vast knowledge and expertise accumulated in Rotary over the years.
We’re not going to do everything perfectly, but we will learn from everything we do. Getting input and feedback from members like you is a vital part of this learning process: we need to know how the strategies we implement are impacting clubs, and understand what is and isn’t working on the ground.
Zone 8 is big and diverse, covering Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, the Solomon Islands and Nauru. We’ll do our very best to listen to Rotary and Rotaract members from across the Zone, and incorporate your feedback and insights into each of the strategies we implement.
Clubs are and will always be the heart and soul of Rotary – that’s not something we ever want to change. But think about what we could achieve if we coordinated more at a Zone-wide level.
For instance, how much more of a positive impact could we have in the world if we ran more programs on a larger scale? Think about a project your own club has established or is currently running: could it be replicated or expanded to run across the Zone, and how many more people would it reach if this happened?
These are the kinds of opportunities that make me excited to be the Chair of the Regional Council, that make people outside of Rotary want to join us, and that make corporates and governments want to fund and support us.
You’ve probably heard this often-quoted wisdom from Paul Harris, founder of Rotary International:
If Rotary is to realise its proper destiny, it must be evolutionary at all times, revolutionary on occasion.
Being evolutionary – adapting to the changing needs of our society while retaining our core values and essence – has always been a part of Rotary. The Regional Council is proud to continue this tradition of evolution.
We are honoured and privileged to serve you, and can’t wait to see what we achieve together!
