District AGM 2021
Foundation Awards




District Enviro Awards Introduced
Membership Growth Awards
A number of Clubs were recognized for the achievements they have made so far this year adding new the most new members to their Clubs in a given month. District Governor Jeremy Wright presented the following clubs with membership awards for Club of the Month:
- Fairy Meadow - July
- Sydney Darling Harbour - 4 new members in August.
- Sylvania Waters - 3 new members in September.
- Sydney Cove - 6 new members in October.
The Rotary Club of Strathfield also received a Membership Award for having added 5 members to their club for the year so far.
Rotary Regionalization Plans
Finally Past District Governor Phil Whyte PHF from the Rotary Club of Cronulla presented the case for Regionalization of Rotary. PDG Phil will be our District Representative for Regionalization and will be working with current and future District Governors to establish a mechanism to consult and communicate with Clubs so we can provide input and feedback into the structure, function and impact of the Regionalization plan.
The ultimate goal of the Regionalization Plan is to make Rotary more flexible and cost effective, make resources more accessible, improve communication, grow membership, attract more community, corporate and government sector support. To enhance leadership and personal activities, foster more diverse perspectives and reduce the burden of administration face by upcoming leaders.
The need for change is underscored by the decline in membership which has continued over the last 10 years despite 1,369,118 new members being recruited worldwide in the same time frame the number of existing Rotarians sits at 1,162,763. The picture is the same for Zone 8 having recruited 33,311 new members with the total membership remaining at 31,670.
Yet despite the overall downward trend the Rotary Clubs of Asia have been able to reverse this trend in their area and have experienced a 26% increase in membership since 2011. This has been attributed to an embracing of new types of membership and clubs that include Family and Corporate Memberships, eClubs, Passport and Satellite Clubs. In addition trends are being seen in the number of women joining Rotary both in Zone 8 and worldwide underscoring the need for Clubs to engage in activities that will attract and retain female members.
Other statistics of note: worldwide 62% of members are over 50 with 72% of senior leaders (RI Directors and TRF Trustees) at least 70 years old. 78% of Presidential appointees, 72% of Regional leaders & 70% of District Governors are at least 60 years old. No one under the age of 40 has been selected to serve at the regional level.
In April 2022 the Council of Legislation will vote on whether to initiate the Regionalization Plan. May 2022 Zone 8 will vote. If the vote is successful the Regionalization Plan will begin in July 2023 with each District being given the right to participate or not.
In the words of Arch. C. Klumph. "Rotary will not go backward nor can it remain stationary. It must push forward."
Rotary Adopt a Tree Project Announced
The Rotary Adopt-a-Tree Project launch was announced for Australian Day, 26th January 2022.
This is a District project that will involve an education program that Clubs will be able to roll out to schools. Trees will be planted in bush fire ravaged zone and donors will be able to track the progress of their actual adopted trees by scanning a QR code which will take them to a website where they can view photos and drone video footage of the physical tree(s) they have adopted.
All banners and supporting material needed to run this project will be provided to interested Clubs by District Representatives leading up to the event as will further information as we draw closer to January.