The statement to the left is powerful – the heart of Rotary International’s vision for what we can accomplish. As individual Rotarians, as clubs … all the way up to the RI level, we have a tremendous opportunity to make a positive difference in the world. And to grow ourselves – through contacts, experiences and knowledge sharing.

Rotary International gives us many of the tools and resources we need to plan, take action and be successful. You can access many of those resources through Rotary’s Learning Center; you can also participate in Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) courses (see an article about RLI later in the newsletter).

Take, for example, Membership – an area you know is important to me and the #1 priority of our Rotary International President. Engaging members is our #1 strategy for growth. That’s because enthusiastic members stay in Rotary and want to share the Rotary experience with the people they meet and know. – bringing in more members and more partners to help in the work we do.

So how do we help clubs create engagement strategies? Rotary offers a great resource through the Learning Center Course, “Best Practices for Engaging Members.” The course is open to any Rotarian – and with a 15-minute investment of time, you can learn how you might help energize the club experience, keep members interested and involved, and prevent your club from becoming stale. See Membership Chair Jaclyn Donovan’s article in this newsletter to learn about other Rotary learning opportunities related to membership.

You’ll find a wealth of information in Rotary’s Learning Center that can help you plan and act successfully on a variety of topics – from membership to service projects to The Rotary Foundation. Access the center through My Rotary, then look for courses that meet your needs. Mobile access to the Learning Center is now available in all Rotary supported languages.

I thank you for all you are doing for your communities and the world, and wish you and yours the best of holiday seasons!