Rotary going all out to capture younger members
Former Rotary International vice president Tom Thorfinnson is impressed with members of the Nelson rotary clubs, who are ‘‘going the right way’’ in appealing to a wider age group.
Thorfinnson, who is based in Minneapolis and has represented corporations and successful entrepreneurs for more than 30 years, visited Nelson for the first time this week.
He said Rotary clubs were at a crossroads between a business and charity, where business leaders got together for charitable reasons.
‘‘So we have this amazing middle point where we have a business perspective being applied on a charitable level,’’ said Thorfinnson, who has been involved in Rotary since 1980.
Thorfinnson had visited Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin and Queenstown previously, but said he was impressed with what he had seen of Rotary clubs in Nelson.
‘‘[Rotary Club of Whakatu] is very accepting of change, [president] Steve Kelso is a sharp young businessman and is getting where we need to go,’’ said Thorfinnson.
He said Rotary clubs now needed to put more focus on appealing to the younger generation, as they would be next to lead the clubs.
‘‘Often a lot of the clubs are struggling to adapt to the concept of today’s world and Steve’s club have figured it out and are headed in the right direction,’’ he said.
Thorfinnson said the traditional model of Rotary needed to be adapted.
‘‘In today’s world you’ve got to be a little bit more cognisant of time limits,’’ he said.
Adapting the meetings to being only twice a month instead of weekly, or shortening them, might help appeal to a younger age group, he said.
‘‘Flexibility is the key; understand the customer and adapt to what they need.’’
To make Rotary’s brand more attractive to a younger generation Thorfinnson said it had three promises: joining leaders, exchanging ideas and taking action.
‘‘[We are removing] an image that we aren’t just sitting round and having a meal together.
‘‘We are gathering together for the purpose of exchanging ideas,’’ he said.
While in Nelson, Thorfinnson also spoke at the Nelson Tasman Chamber of Commerce, where he discussed the Rotary organisation and gave some of his background knowledge into business, including what he believes makes a good business practice.
‘‘Half of what the Rotary is, is business,’’ he said.
‘‘[I discussed] a bit about what I’ve seen and talked about what I’ve seen from my clients over the years.’’
He said he was impressed with the business scene in Nelson.
‘‘That’s a vibrant downtown, I can’t believe how many shops there are,’’ he said.