WEEKLY MEETINGS
The Vashon Island Rotary Club meets on Thursdays for breakfast and an educational program that helps us all expand our view of the world and our community. Meetings are typically one hour in length, with breakfast and an informal social time from about 6:45 until 7:15. Check our schedule carefully for occasional evening programs in lieu of morning meetings.
While attendance is not required, members should participate in as many projects and meetings as they can…key for us to be successful. As a Rotarian, you are entitled to visit any Rotary club in the world, and will be welcomed there….what an opportunity!
Please plan to stay for the entire meeting; they are just over an hour long. If you must leave early, please avoid walking out on the guest speaker. Please seat yourself near the door and leave as discreetly as possible.
PARTICIPATION
Rotary Club has been likened to a giant smorgasbord of service: you take a little of this, a little of that, and a whole lot of something else.
Four areas of participation are expected and important:
1. Attendance at club meetings as often as you can
2. Committees and projects: serve on at least one committee or project
3. Membership development: helping us grow by inviting and proposing new members who can uphold the values of Rotary
4. Fund raising: do your share for our various fund raising projects
“CLASSIFICATION” TALKS
As a new member, you will be asked to address the club during one of the meetings to describe your classification and tell us something of your personal background. Members look forward to these presentations, and we hope you will too. Our program chair person will talk to you about giving this presentation within the first few months of your involvement in the club.
DUES AND BREAKFAST
The initial, one-time initiation fee is currently $80.00. Club dues are billed to you quarterly, currently $115 per quarter. Breakfast is included.
Occasionally we bill each member for a small number of tickets to a special event such as the high school play. The club buys every seat in the house for one night of the performance, then we sell a few tickets to the public and members attend or re-sell two to four tickets at about $20 – $30 each.
PIN AND NAME BADGE
Wear your Rotary lapel pin as much as possible when you are out and about. You’ll be pleasantly surprised how many people will greet you upon recognizing the pin.
At club meetings, wear your name badge. Most members will soon know you, but visitors do not.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO VASHON ROTARY FOUNDATION & ROTARY INTERNATIONAL
Your contribution amount is a personal decision, but annual support of both the Rotary (International) Foundation and Vashon Rotary Foundation is part of being a Rotarian. Contributions are not required, but 100% participation by members in supporting the two foundations is Rotary’s goal.
OTHER VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS
Happy Bucks are voluntary contributions for an announcement, brag, etc. of a personal nature; it can be related to Rotary or not. All monies from Happy Bucks go into the club’s general income that supports our activities and projects. Each meeting concludes with a brief “Happy Bucks” section for those who wish to participate.
Birthdays, anniversaries and other landmark events are often cause for a member’s contribution to The Rotary Foundation, the Vashon Rotary Foundation, the club or a charity/cause of your choice. Optional.
Weekly drawing for “The Blue Ball” – raffle tickets are sold at $1 to earn the opportunity to take a chance on drawing the blue ball from a bag of white ones. Winners keep half the proceeds; half goes to the club treasury.
Vashon Island Food Bank – our club actively supports the food bank through a monthly food and cash collection (“First Friday”) plus a contribution from our treasury. This is currently the one not-for-profit organization for which we try to track all our individual and household contributions in order to see the cumulative effect that 55 generous people can have. Checks are payable to the Vashon Food Bank; they do not go through Rotary’s treasury.
PROJECT PARTICIPATION
The most important part of being a Rotarian is serving our community and the world, as well as helping our club thrive. Service projects abound, members take turns serving as “Greeters” each week, and even the President’s job goes to a new person each year.
Our members contribute to the club in a variety of roles, some handling the inside business of the club, and some active with community service. Others do a little of everything, and some take on a coordinator or committee chair role. Your sponsor, the club President, and our Membership Chair will help you initially find a committee, projects and activities in which to participate.
Rotary members are expected to give of their time and talents by participating in multiple projects throughout the year. Normally two or three projects each year are designated as All-Club Projects that have fund raising or broad island participation as their primary goals, and every club member is expected to participate in some manner to make the project successful. Other projects may involve just a handful of people or one of our committees.
A small sampling of ways to participate:
- Serve shortcake at our booth at Strawberry Festival (an annual fund raiser)
- Attend a one day or half-day work party at a local non-profit organization
- Serve on a committee and coordinate some aspect of a project
- Lead or support special events
- Serve on the Board of Directors (usually as a committee chair or officer)
ETHICS
Members should exemplify the Four-Way Test, Code of Ethics and Motto of Rotary. While the club absolutely recognizes members’ professions and vocations, direct promotion or development of your business is inappropriate. A serious breach of ethics can be grounds for dismissal from Rotary.
SOCIAL EVENTS
While optional, our club’s social events are fun and frequent, often centered around food! Some events are purely parties, others are more business oriented and called Firesides. Members have become good friends, and we enjoy the fellowship and good times we have together. Spouses and families are often included. Events are sometimes at our own expense or pot-luck, and sometimes are covered out of the club treasury.