June 11, 2020 was another milestone day for District 6630. During the noon meeting of the Rotary Club of Northampton-Cuyahoga Valley, District Governor John Reyes commissioned the new Rotary E-ClubNEO. Paying off two years of hard work by many people, the new hybrid E-Club became a reality. The idea of the hybrid Club is to have both online and in-person interaction. Business meetings, guest speakers, Rotary education and other relevant presentations will be available online (something we are all getting used to these days) while social events and service projects can happen “in person” (when it’s again safe to do so.)
The idea was formulated early in the tenure of PDG Beverly Ghent-Skrzynski’s year as Governor. Recognizing that there are many current and potential Rotarians whose schedules and lives don’t permit them to be as actively involved with Rotary as they would like, Bev tabbed Kathryn Craig (spouse of PDG Steve Zabor) to pick up the reigns and begin to pull the new hybrid E-Club together. Kathryn teamed up with Juleta Craig (whose husband Tom is a member of the recently chartered RC of Green) and the two of them got busy recruiting potential members, planning, and doing a TON of research.
As the Rotary calendar flipped over, District Governor John Reyes continued to encourage and support the formation of the new Club. PDG and District Membership Chair Jim McKee got very involved and his home Club, RC of Northampton-Cuyahoga Valley agreed to be the host Club with E-ClubNEO organizing under their wings as a Satellite Club. With guidance from Jim and the RC of Northampton-Cuyahoga Valley, all the paperwork was completed, forms filed and Rotary E-ClubNEO was officially commissioned.
DG Reyes said, “this visionary club came to fruition because of the heart, soul, enthusiasm and tenacity of Kathryn Craig and Juleta Craig, along with the support of the entire Northampton-Cuyahoga Valley Club.”
6 new Rotarians were inducted and the Club was commissioned during a Zoom meeting with dignitaries from RI, Zone, District and other Rotarians from across the state (and one from Pakistan!) looking on. Steve Warren, who was elected as President/Chair of the new Satellite Club said, “I’m honored and excited to be part of the formation of this historic new way to be a Rotarian. My work schedule has precluded me from attending most of the weekly meetings of my former Club. By transferring my membership to E-ClubNEO, I have been able to attend all the meetings and am anxiously awaiting our next service project, with all of our new Rotarians participating.”
Many of our Clubs have experienced the flexibility of meeting “virtually” during the COVID-19 pandemic. A hybrid E-Club is a great alternative for people who can’t get to traditional Club meetings due to work, school schedules or transportation issues.
This is an opportunity to participate in a Rotary Club and its service projects – for busy professionals, homemakers, individuals with health needs that limit mobility, caregivers who cannot be away from home, individuals who now live outside of Rotary District 6630 boundaries but want to stay involved in this area, business owners who find it difficult to attend traditional meetings, college students who do not have access to Rotaract club and so many others.
This focus on making Rotary more flexible and therefore more accessible has the potential of significantly growing membership in Rotary with quality individuals.
The future is looking good for Rotary – all you need is innovative thinking and people of action!
If you are interested in learning more, visit www.eclubneo.org for information. Congratulations to the new Rotarians and members of E-ClubNEO… welcome to District 6630!