Upcoming Column Ideas

Here is a quick list of the column topics to be covered soon in R2: RNG.

If you see something you like (or don't) or don't see something you think should be listed, let me know.

MW

Career
When service is your profession

Are you an R2?
The over-40 club

The Rotary Classification System
Why it’s obsolete

The Down-Side of Young Members
Family, career, and money

R2 Values
Is this a non-religious, international organization or isn’t it?

Change
Nothing stays the same, so get over it

Technology
What you don’t know can’t help you

What Makes a Fun Meeting
Hint: It isn’t singing

R2s Are Already Rotarians
Whether they’ve joined Rotary or not

Rotarian version 2.0

Everybody’s talking about it. Everybody wants it, and when they get it, they just want more of it. It’s a need, really – and in truth, none of us would be here without it. I’m talking about, of course… membership. What? What were you thinking? More specifically, I’m talking about the membership of Rotary’s Next Generation – Rotarians version 2.0, or R2’s, for short. These are the young-minded, enthusiastic, forward-looking individuals who share the ideal of Service Above Self and who will carry Rotary well into its second century of service.

Who are these Rotarians, the R2’s? How do we find them, and how do we tap into their enormous potential? I will endeavor to answer these and other questions in this column. I will cover a number of the issues pertaining to R2’s that affect us all in Rotary. Some you will recognize, and hopefully some you’ve never thought of before. We’ll discuss the R2’s notions of values – what’s most important in life; of change – why it’s constant and should be embraced; of technology – how you can and why you should use it to maximum benefit; of profession – what it means to make service your life’s work, and much more.

Now, it occurred to me with some dismay that version 2.0 Rotarians will generally not be reading this column, at least not in the District Newsletter. Why? Because print is not typically the R2’s medium of choice. R2’s are connected. They’re technotronic. They read email, internet messages, and blogs. And so should you. So, to get you started, I’ve created a weblog for this column. You can find it here. What’s more, it’s interactive. You can post your own comments. And I welcome them all – suggestions, criticisms, stories, the works. In the blog you will find this column as well as additional posts from me and from other contributors, feedback from readers, profiles of and interviews with R2’s, and more. I urge you not only to check out the blog, but to participate as well.

We all need it, it’s true. But talking about membership is not enough, and looking for a Paul Harris among today’s young professionals is not effective. We need to focus on what it means to be Rotarians version 2.0, to become them ourselves, and to attract those like-minded people for whom service is a priority. And then membership will take care of itself.

MW