2019-2020 Rotary Club of Kyoto South President: Norio Yoshida

Spinning the Rotary Wheel Together
─Let's Make the Southern Wind Blow─

Kyoto South Rotary Club celebrated its 65th anniversary last year. That makes this year our first step towards our 70th anniversary. I would like to guide our expanding membership down the correct pathway as a Rotary club by reviewing the way we’ve been and improving any unfavorable conditions, so that the club will continue functioning effectively.

Last year’s 65th anniversary saw a stable membership increase to 250 members over the last five years, making us the third largest club in the country. Worthy of note is that the number of the new members over the same period was about 100, which is 40 percent of our current members. It’s wonderful that the age of these new members has decreased the club’s average age from 63.4 years to 62.4 years, which has brought a sense of refreshed vitality to our club.

As of the end of the last Rotary year, the number of members with less than five years in the club was 86 (34.8% of total membership). This means that those members with less Rotary experience have increased from one quarter to more than a third of the overall club membership, creating a gap between the new and old members in terms of Rotary purposes and intentions.

In regards to this gap, I think we need to increase project opportunities that all club members can contribute to as stated in the above motto of “Spinning the Rotary Wheel Together.” This attitude enables us to create and maintain a positive club atmosphere where everyone feels included, counted and enjoys being part of it. The wheel, the Rotary’s symbol, doesn’t function effectively by itself. I think that our club is made of 250 wheels, and each differs in size, style and role. How these wheels are combined makes a significant difference in the way we are, and appropriate lubricant is also essential to ensure smooth functioning of the club. It is my belief that producing a vibrant club environment in which everyone has opportunities to meet and get to know as many members as possible will act as a source of energy to propel our club forward. “Making the Southern Wind Blow” involves every one of us.

Lately Rotary International has taken measures to improve slow membership growth, which include removal of professional qualification requirements, reduction of regular meeting frequency, active recruitment of female members and approval of on-line meetings. Our club has been able to achieve steady membership growth without such measures. We need to have a close look at the reasons why this attainment was possible. Although our membership has increased, our forum and project participation has not. I’d like to focus on member participation, and not total membership numbers, when we think about projects. This same attitude applies to contributions towards Rotary Foundation and Rotary Yoneyama Memorial Foundation. Our club’s contribution is by far one of the greatest, but I’d like to see this amount from the aspect of individual contribution. I think we, as a large club, are facing a challenging time. We need to approach club matters from different angles than before.

I’d like to work together with you all to make this year an enjoyable one and appreciate our club’s value, by creating project opportunities to get to know more about each other.