How to Start a Rotary Club

Giving back is one of the best feelings in the world. People join service clubs such as Kiwanis, the Optimists, the Lions and Rotary to enjoy this feeling on a regular basis.

But precious few folks start NEW clubs. Here's the story of a how young professional in Ohio started a Rotary Club in her small town--even though a club already existed.

Jenny Stotts joined her local longstanding Rotary Club and really liked it. She loved the great people in the club, the rewarding projects, the socializing and learning about this great thing called Rotary.

But soon, she developed mixed emotions about her Rotary experience.

She had trouble with the club's "unwritten rules," inappropriate "humor'" and a kind of pettiness in how the club made decisions and did things.

These "less than" experiences are not unique to any particular service organization, by the way.

The point is that Jenny felt bad enough to actually quit that Rotary club.

Let's review: a woman who actually liked Rotary, did not care for her club and decided to leave.

Jenny was not alone. Many people left that Rotary club during that time frame.

But she missed the Rotary experience so much that within a few months, she helped organize a SECOND Rotary club in her small town.

Some former members of the first Rotary club joined the new club. A lot of new people joined, as well.

The first Rotary club had about 20 members when Jenny left. Within a couple of years, that club folded. No one, including Jenny, is happy about that.

Today, the second Rotary club, the one that Jenny started, has about 80 members.

Talking points include:

1:30 Rotarians honor the truth
3:30 Jenny's first impressions of Rotary
4:00 Why Rotary didn't feel right
5:30 How to understand what's really happening
6:30 How some traditions, mores and habits let us down over time
8:15 New Rotarians aren't always in on "the joke"
9:00 Nobody joins a service organization for drama
10:30 Why Jenny left Rotary
13:15 The Caffeinated Care Bears?!
14:00 Service as a "system"
15:30 Why do some clubs become irrelevant or lose momentum?
17:30 How can clubs re-calibrate and find their way again?
19:00 Jenny's old club has folded; the new club has 83 members
25:00 When clubs take care of business, members are auto-happy
27:10 The penalty for starting a new club
27:30 The benefits of sharing stories like this one from Jenny
30:00 Contact Jenny for more info and to have her speak

Jenny Stotts is now "Rotary Happy," and Rotary is better for it.
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Rotary International is an international service organization whose stated purpose is to bring together business and professional leaders in order to provide humanitarian service and to advance goodwill and peace around the world.

It is a non-political, non-religious organization open to all people regardless of race, color, religion, gender, or political preference. There are 35,000+ member clubs worldwide and 1.2 million Rotarians.

Rotarians usually gather weekly for breakfast, lunch, or dinner to fulfill their first guiding principle to develop friendships as an opportunity for service.

The Rotarian's primary motto is "Service Above Self. Rotarians also believe that "One Profits Most Who Serves Best."

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