Interview with R2, Nathan Auerbach

MW: How long have you been a Rotarian?
NA: Just over 1 year.

MW: How old are you?
NA: 26.

MW: How did you find out about Rotary?
NA: Through participation in a Rotary speech contest while at school.

MW: Why did you join Rotary?
NA: In the short term to make West Coast Walk happen, in the longer term to work on service oriented projects with like minded people, uninhibited by religion or other beliefs.

MW: What are you doing in your club?
NA: After West Coast Walk, I've been working on a number of projects, in particular those to support the troops overseas. I'm also the Program Chair.

MW: What do you love about Rotary?
NA: When Rotarians get busy on a project that gains momentum, the potential is limitless. One need only look at PolioPlus as a prime example.

MW: How do we attract members like yourself to Rotary?
NA: Eliminate some of the stuffier traditions, make meetings more punchy (eg interesting speakers, not dwelling on ceremony).

MW: What frustrates you about Rotary?
NA: RINOs (Rotarians in name only), and other Rotarians hell-bent on clinging to defunct rules and traditions to the detriment of progress.

MW: In Rotary meetings, what is your opinion about...
a) the pledge of allegiance to the flag?
NA: not something I 'believe' in, but something so rooted in American tradition that to dispense with it would cause outrage and possible riot.

b) the invocation?
A nice idea if not twisted into a sectarian religious spiel, which goes against the core values of Rotary to embrace all cultures, religions and nations.

c) singing?
Should be abolished. Any potential younger Rotarian, or Interacter will be completely turned off Rotary by witnessing this. Join a musical group if you want to sing.

MW: What else would you like to tell me?
NA: We were talking about age and how it relates to Rotary membership. I just wanted to say that I recently went to a football game with one of the members of our club. There we were, me, the youngest member, and him, I think he may be the oldest member, and we had a brilliant time. Stage of life was not an issue. We had Rotary (a love of service) and a love of sports in common, and that was all that mattered.

Welcome, Friend

Last month I introduced the term R2 (Rotarian v. 2.0), defined as the next generation of Rotarian. This month I’d like to follow up with an example. While youth is not a requirement to earn the R2 label, the energy, openness, and optimism that typically accompany it are. So, I’d like to focus on some of our younger members for a while, and help you get to know them a little better. The first person that comes to mind when thinking about Rotary’s newest, youngest members is Nathan Auerbach.

Most of you will remember Nathan as the 2,000 mile walker from the West Coast Walk, the centennial project which raised over $100,000 for PolioPlus and simultaneously raised awareness across the country for Rotary and its good works. Nathan has also, despite wearing the Rotary pin for just a year, visited more clubs and met with more fellow Rotarians than most of us ever will. That gives him a unique perspective. Not only does he bring a fresh set of eyes with which to view ourselves, but he’s also done a whole lot of viewing. Here’s a bit of what Nathan has to say.

“My experience at the clubs varied. In some clubs, I would sit down next to someone in their seventies, and they would smile warmly and greet me and say, ‘It makes me so happy to have a young person here.’ At other clubs, I could just feel the mistrust. It was like, ‘Who are you, and why do you think you belong here?’ Even today there is often this kind of exclusivity, even after West Coast Walk.

“From my point of view, I had never spent any significant time with people outside my own age group (except for my family). I had to be really open-minded and accept that a lot of clubs have their own traditions. It takes a young person who is open-minded and accepting to get past that initial impression.”

Indeed it does, and it makes me wonder how many R2’s are out there, looking for the opportunity to provide service. And how many have gotten glimpses of a Rotary meeting in a restaurant corner or hotel conference room? And how many have felt welcome?

As always, your comments, questions, and criticisms are welcome.

MW