Photos @rhysmartinphotographer
Earlier this year, 84 clubs throughout Rotary South Pacific were selected to participate in Fit for Purpose, an innovative membership program designed to empower clubs to grow and thrive. These clubs recently kick-started their transformational journeys by attending an inspiring workshop with top membership experts in our region.
This October, more than 100 representatives from selected clubs participated in a Club Transformation Workshop in Sydney. The event was a critical component of the Fit for Purpose program being run by the Rotary South Pacific Membership Team as part of the ongoing Regionalisation Pilot.
The day-and-a-half workshop featured an impressive lineup of keynote speakers including Past Rotary International Director Jessie Harman, Rotary South Pacific Membership Director Andy Rajapakse, Rotary South Pacific Club and Cultural Transformation Chair Mark Huddleston, founder and current Vice President of Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) Oceania Rebecca Fry, and Rotary International Regional Membership Officer Barbara Mifsud.
These expert speakers covered membership-related topics such as:
- How to recruit and retain members
- How to attract younger people to your club
- How to create an inclusive and irresistible club experience
- How to leverage artificial intelligence to increase your club’s impact
- How to initiate change in your club
Drawing on their learnings from the presentations, each club representative in attendance began crafting their Club Fitness Plan, a document detailing their club’s strategies to overcome their unique challenges and achieve growth. Even if your club isn’t participating in Fit for Purpose, there’s good news – you too can access the insights from the workshop to strengthen your own club!
What’s next in Fit for Purpose?
Having attended the Club Transformation Workshop, participating clubs now have the information and inspiration to commence implementation of their Club Fitness Plan. Full implementation is expected by June 30, 2025, followed by a 12-month monitoring and reporting phase taking the program through to its conclusion on June 30, 2026.
At every stage of the program, each club will be supported by one of 14 Club Fitness Coaches. Each coach has been assigned to a group of six clubs and will use their membership expertise to mentor clubs on their path to success. As the Chair of Club and Cultural Transformation on the Rotary South Pacific Membership Team, Mark Huddleston is leading the implementation of Fit for Purpose. He and his team look forward to not only witnessing the progress of participating clubs, but also using the learnings from the program to develop ways to better support all clubs throughout our region.
“At the end of the program, clubs can choose whether to continue with the changes they have implemented from their Club Fitness Plan. We hope participating clubs will reap such enormous benefits from implementing change that they will not only retain these changes, but act as a membership beacon to the rest of the Rotary world,” says Mark.
Watch recordings of all the presentations from the Fit for Purpose Workshop and access other relevant membership resources via bit.ly/ffp-workshop.
What participants have to say
“This was the very best workshop I have ever attended. Speakers were engaging; it was informative and practical, with relevant topics and ideas to help develop a way forward.”
“I am very inspired and ready to get going! All the speakers were sensational.”
“Attending this workshop really helped me consolidate [my club’s] thoughts and ideas and to identify the strategies to develop through the Club Fitness Plan, which will be great to begin our transformation journey.”