They say life goes faster when it is full and interesting. By that measure, the life of a DG is full and interesting, because I find it hard to believe TWO months of the year have already disappeared into the rearview mirror.
This month I embarked on my mission to visit all 103 Rotary and Rotaract clubs and Community Corps in the district and I have discovered visiting clubs really IS the best part of the job. Every club I have visited has been different, but all have been committed to Rotary’s mission and values and the welcomes I have received have been extraordinary. I am also amazed at how much our clubs are achieving, often with severely limited resources. I’m looking forward to more visits!
In between club visits I have managed to make it to a few club events. The fact that I can only get to a minority could be seen as a good thing, because it means there is so much going on in our District, but nevertheless it is a matter for regret that I can’t get to every event.
On 24 August I dropped in on the Brisbane Kite Festival put on by the Rotary Club of Carindale and their many partners. I was only able to attend during the first hour, but even then, there must have been well over 1,000 people from the community already in attendance and the cars were still flowing into the carpark. The atmosphere could only be described as joyous and the event is a great example of the scale and style of events that Rotary can make happen.
On 9 August we held the second of three Membership Action Plan seminars. PDG Stephen and Carolyn O’Connell from Rotary District 9790 in Victoria held a group of about 55 Rotarians from across our district spellbound for four hours with their modern blueprint for member recruitment, engagement, and retention. Their plan for club revitalisation is simple, actionable, and measurable. It does however require some work to implement. Some adjustments to assumptions about and expectations of new and current members are also required to achieve success. The third Membership Action Plan seminar will be held online in two 1-hour Zoom sessions on Friday 3 October and Friday 31 October with some homework in between.
The Rotary Leadership Institute is well and truly back. PDG Jitendra Prasad is leading the charge on this, and the first of several sessions will be held across two Sundays 31 August and 14 September from 8:30am to 3:00pm at Bostock House. More sessions are planned in Toowoomba and on the Sunshine Coast later this calendar year, and the strong enrolment of 24 attendees for the first session bodes well for another session at Bostock House in the new year.
I highly commend the Rotary Leadership Institute programme to all Rotarians, new and long-standing. It is not leadership training per se, although there is much advice of use to Rotary leaders implicit in the content. Far more, it is a strong general introduction to the structure, ideals, mission, and processes of Rotary. To become a leader or even an effective member of an organisation we need a strong foundation in organisational knowledge, and the RLI is more than a solid start in that.
Until next month or until next time we bump into each other, I love you all, I love your work, and I am incredibly proud to be one of you.
Mark Williams
District Governor 2025-2026.
