We Are People That Are Inspired To Serve

August is Rotary's Membership Month—but this conversation goes far beyond membership numbers.

In this episode of Voices of D7020, host PP Nerissa Persaud is joined by Past District Governor David Kirkaldy—making his debut as co-host—for an engaging conversation with District Governor Karen Pollard of Rotary District 7690.

Together, they explore one of Rotary's most important questions:

How do we create a Rotary experience that people genuinely want to become part of—and remain part of?

From first invitations and unforgettable first impressions to leadership, fellowship and club culture, this episode examines what truly creates belonging within Rotary.

Along the way, the conversation explores:

• Why people join Rotary—and why they stay.
• The power of invitation and first impressions.
• How fellowship shapes the member experience.
• What thriving clubs consistently do well.
• Why leadership creates culture.
• The importance of listening to members through meaningful feedback.
• How Rotary can remain relevant for future generations while honouring its traditions.

Whether you're a longtime Rotarian, a club leader, a Membership Chair, or someone simply curious about Rotary, this episode offers practical insights and thoughtful reflections on building stronger clubs through stronger human connections.

Because Rotary doesn't simply grow through membership drives.

It grows one invitation, one relationship and one meaningful experience at a time.

Transcript

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Podcast Convo with DG Karen August 2026

Speaker 2 Hello, everyone, and welcome to another episode of Voices of District seventy twenty, the podcast where we amplify the stories, ideas, and impacts shaping Rotary's future across our district and beyond. I'm your host, Rotarian Nerissa, and today's episode marks an exciting new chapter for the podcast as Voices of District seventy twenty welcomes its first co-host. Now, this is someone who needs little introduction across our rotary family a respected leader, a mentor, and a friend to so many with a sincere heart for service to everyone listening. It gives me great pleasure to welcome behind the microphone as co-host of Voices of District seventy twenty, past District Governor David Kirkaldy, or should I say Kirkaldy. David, welcome to our virtual living room.

Speaker 3 Thank you so much, Nerissa, and thanks for asking me to be a co-host on this amazing podcast that you started some time ago and has helped to really expand the approachability. I think of rotary and the understanding of all the various avenues of service within rotary and the opportunities that there are to serve in your community, in our district and in the world.

Speaker 2 Fantastic. Now, David, it is such a pleasure to have you join this platform as co-host. And I have a feeling we're going to have a lot of fun together. Now, August is membership month throughout rotary. Traditionally, it's a time when we talk about growing our clubs. But today, let's explore something a little deeper because every Rotarian was once invited by someone and every member has a story. So today we're asking a simple but important question. Why do people join rotary? And perhaps even more important, why do they stay? And to help us get to the heart of this conversation is none other than the twenty twenty six twenty seven District Governor of Rotary District seventy six ninety Karen Pollard. Karen, welcome to Voices of District seventy twenty. It is wonderful to have you with us.

Speaker 4 Thank you so much for inviting me. It's really my pleasure to be here.

Speaker 2 Karen, can you tell us exactly where your district is? For anyone not aware?

Speaker 4 Yes, we are in central North Carolina. we don't include Charlotte, but basically the rest of central North Carolina.

Speaker 2 All right. Fantastic. So Karen, let's start here. It is often said rotary is a great organization to join. And that is without question true. But underneath the name are people, and I believe people join people. So tell us a bit about your early rotary invitation and what was it about the people you met that made you come back?

Speaker 4 I think that's such a great question because we often talk about the initial invite, which is important, but I think equally important is how you connect with that person once they come back the second time. And for me, that was really the key was I was a fairly new Rotarian in my club, and I had an idea for, kind of switching up the club meetings a little bit after visiting a different club. And when I came to my club president with that idea, he was immediately supportive and encouraged me to run with it. And I think it was probably the first time in my life where I really felt like my ideas were valued, like I was valued. And that to me created a huge connection to the club that made me want to keep coming back again and again.

Speaker 3 it's interesting because everybody has a different experience of their first introduction to rotary. I don't know how early in your life you knew about rotary and whether you really knew about it or just were aware of that wheel that you sometimes see at the entrance to a town or on a on a plaque in a park. I remember coming as a kid from primary school in the, in the afternoons to my dad's office, and his boss happened to be a past president who ultimately sponsored me into, into the Rotary Club of Grand Cayman. but I remember as a kid, there was something very different about Thursday afternoons when I got there after school and they were coming back to work after their lunchtime meeting. And something was very different about Thursday. So my first exposure was seeing these very jovial, very happy guys, coming back from a rotary meeting. And from a very young age, I didn't have a clue what this thing called rotary was about, but I knew that they were having fun. And I, I thought that was a really good thing. years later, you find out that it's a lunchtime club and a lot of their work was actually done after the club meeting at the, uh, at the social location afterwards. but everybody has a different avenue coming into it and then you join and then it's on some levels up to you, it's on some level up to your sponsor to, to keep that momentum going and then to understand all the nuances and all the possibilities within, within rotary, because there are so many possibilities. And I think that's the secret sauce to a successful club that has successful membership Of retention. half the battle is extending that invitation and making that newcomer to rotary feel comfortable and see a space for them within that group of people, that most of which they wouldn't know when they first walked into the room. Then once they're in, it's like, how do you retain them and ensure that like you, they're felt valued. And that a suggestion that they might make is, is not put aside because you're a quote unquote new member and you don't have that voice yet. It was very important to you that you had that voice and that catapulted you years later into the position you are today, because somebody valued a suggestion that you had.

Speaker 2 What was that moment you looked around and you saw and you felt, this is where I belong.

Speaker 4 it was in that moment when he was so immediately encouraging of my idea and said, that's great. You know, I think he may have even said like, I'm so glad you came to the club. We need ideas like this. Really. It was very encouraging. And you know, David, your story reminded me a little bit. My entrance to rotary was somewhat different, like on the front end, because I really hadn't seen the wheel anywhere. I'm sure it was around. I just had never paid attention to it. I didn't know anyone who was in rotary. I had no idea what it was. There was a gal who I used to interact with in a former job, and I ran into her after I'd started a new company. She asked me to come be a presenter, at a rotary meeting, and then asked me to join after that. And so it was really kind of neat way to get exposed to rotary, to come as the speaker and then be invited to join. So I think that, you know, there's lots of different ways that people hear about rotary and know about it. And for some, it's a total surprise and, you know, very happy surprise once I learned what it was.

Speaker 2 That's amazing. And, David, you and I were talking earlier, just before we even started this podcast where we anchored in that it's so important for clubs to ensure that the space has that feel of permission, because we have people with so many ideas and so many great things that they can contribute. But sometimes you don't often know which boundaries are there, what steps you shouldn't cross, what's the yes, what's the no. And like yourself, district Governor Karen being invited and then being given opportunity so that you can actually run with things,

Speaker 3 And I think the way that club leadership handles that ask by a new Rotarian or a prospective member sort of almost leads into your experience of belonging in that club in the future. And it also leads to that feeling of being valued, which ultimately leads to retention of members. but having your voice heard and having that space where it's okay to talk about an idea that you have, is very, very important. And when we talk about club culture, perhaps a little later on in this podcast, as you, as if you have a club culture where that is not welcomed, you probably have a club that is not changing over time and it's not adapting to the new, the new profile of potential members.

Speaker 2 listening to your story, district Governor Karen, it strikes me that membership

Nerissa Persaud Begins.

Speaker 2 long before someone fills a form. It begins with the experience. And perhaps that's why many people stay for the lifetime. and in August month membership month. We often spend a considerable amount of time talking about attracting new members. But in your view, what actually makes someone feel they belong once they've joined?

Speaker 4 honestly, I thought about sitting here with the two of you. And I thought back to when I came down for your conference in Jamaica, and we got to spend a lot of fellowship time together and not, you know, not just the three of us, a whole bunch of people, but such strong relationships were built in that time. And I heard some spouses of Rotarians who had never come to a big event like that before say, oh my gosh, I had no idea it was so much fun and that I would develop these kind of relationships with people. And I think when I was thinking about back to that, I'm like, this is the core of what keeps people coming back to rotary is the relationships that you build. And yes, you build them around giving service to the community and you build them around leadership and other things. But when we have fun together, when we laugh together, when we create those bonds and those friendships, it makes us want to come back again and again.

Speaker 3 I couldn't agree more. I think, the word that describes, I guess within rotary, what you're, what you've just said is fellowship and a club or a district that has in its core, a real, expectation that fellowship is going to be an important part of the experience is a club or a district that's, that's successful. certainly the example I gave in the introduction of how I first became aware of rotary, as you know, a primary school student. That experience that I was seeing on a Thursday afternoon that was fellowship, that was more than just the meeting. It was a group of people that would get together post meeting for fellowship. And in the process of doing that way, before the days of WhatsApp and emails or anything like this, they conceived of and executed big, audacious goals that are challenging for clubs to to do now. But they did that in a fellowship setting and they were extremely successful. fellowship is the secret sauce of a really great club experience and by extension, retains members and, and makes the club appealing for people to join.

Speaker 4 I totally agree, and I will say that over the last few years I've had the privilege to visit a bunch of different rotary clubs. And the ones that are growing and thriving are the ones that are having fun together, and they're having those fellowship opportunities while they're doing service, while they're serving their community. And you can feel the energy in the room when you walk in there and you think, oh, I want to be a part of this. So I think that's the key. That's the secret sauce is creating an environment where people walk in and think, I want to be a part of this, and they have that fellowship opportunity. It will help retain members.

Nerissa Persaud Absolutely. So perhaps the way we look at membership isn't simply about recruitment in the sense that we think, recruit, recruit, recruit, but perhaps it's more about creating experiences that people simply don't want to leave.

Speaker 4 I think there's something to be said for that. I mean, we always have to be growing, right? We always have to be inviting. But I think it is equally important to make sure that those that we've invited are feeling valued, are having fun, are creating the relationships that are going to make them want to stay.

Speaker 3 I agree, I think, when everybody in the club has a role, and it is a role that they are excited about, that leads to success within the club and success breeds pride in the club. Success breeds attraction of other people into the club because they see what it's doing in the community. And then they find out that they're also a great bunch of people to, to hang out with. and I think these are the things that sometimes, a club can get very much bogged down in the minutiae of running a club and almost, in a way, by having people doing what they enjoy doing within that club, in the various committees, as opposed to assigning them to committees that they're not passionate about. It almost takes care of itself if you do it that way. certainly I remember at District Governor Training International Assembly, prior to becoming district governor, we had, Gordon McAnally as the re president elect at the time. And he was talking about when a new member is inducted into a club, it is so typical and so common for a club to then say, well, you are you have been assigned to the X, Y, Z committee. And he said, we should flip the script on that a little bit and say, what is it that you as an incoming member into this club, what is it that you are passionate about? to identify the committee that they are best suited for or would feel most connection to, or what is a project that you are passionate about that you don't see being served well in the community that perhaps your new Rotary Club, which is what that would be. It's their club, just as much as anybody else can help you with, and can help address the issue that before you joined, we didn't even know about. Um, and that creates that lasting connection of that person to this group of people who stepped up as they joined in a way that was meaningful for something they're passionate about, or brought them on to a committee where they felt they could most use their time and their talents.

Speaker 4 I think you're hitting the nail on the head, David, because we often talk about exit surveys when people leave rotary. Why did they leave? What were we not giving them? And while that could be valuable information, I am a huge proponent of entrance surveys, which gets at exactly what you're talking about. So as a new member joins you, give them a survey to talk about what is it that you're looking for? What are you hoping to get out of this? Where is your passion? That way you can get them connected and on the front end do the work to meet their needs rather than on the way out realizing that you didn't.

Speaker 2 What about during the lifespan of club members? DG Karen because we have the entrance, there is an exit, but over a great number of years, sometimes information get distorted values get, you know, blurry. is it worth having some sort of survey during to see where people are in their lifespan? Because we go through many changes and that changes our priorities when we started from where we end up maybe five, ten, fifteen years from now.

Speaker 4 Absolutely. One of the most powerful tools at our disposal to help clubs remain healthy is a membership survey. And if clubs actually look at that data that their members are telling them, and translate that into making changes in the club, I think they can retain a lot of members and keep their club healthy over time. there's a story that, someone in my district tells all the time where a club did a membership survey and they found that the number one thing that their members were looking for were networking opportunities. And at the time, can you guess how many networking opportunities the club had? Zero. So their club members were sitting there waiting for networking opportunities. They had no idea until they did the survey. And then once they did the survey, they were able to implement networking opportunities. And this probably prevented tons of attrition from their club.

Speaker 3 I think certainly surveys are key. you'll know, Karen, as you travel around, that you're encouraging clubs to have their club assemblies at least twice a year where they meet outside of a club meeting to just have an open and honest conversation about, the club's plans, what's working, what's not working, and get feedback from the wider club as opposed to just the board that's managing it that year. But outside of that in person type of assembly type meeting, having a survey monkey or other form of survey, distributed on a regular basis, just to be getting that feedback. There's a reason why so often on e-commerce sites when you're checking out is like, you know, do you have two minutes for a quick survey, you know, just what was your overall experience? So many of our clubs do not gather data on the pulse of the club, the feelings that members are having as they experience their own club. the direction that they're happy with, the direction that they're not happy with suggestions that they have. And I think it's very important and easy for in this day and age for clubs to make that type of research happen. and it's surprising how few clubs take advantage of that opportunity, which, will give you so much insight into how to improve the things that are doing well and how to change the things that are not resonating with your organization.

Speaker 2 Okay, well said, but let's be honest here. Sometimes we have all the data, but we need to act upon it. So Karen, what do you say in terms of. Now you have the data sometimes you're going to get information that. It's just not fluffy, but it's real feedback that is coming from your members. And sometimes things have been done a particular way for a long time. And what your members are telling you is pushing you to do something differently from what has been done for a long time. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's an uncomfortable thing. So for somebody that's in the business of brain science, how would we approach that?

Speaker 4 Well, you can't turn a big ship all at once or it will capsize. So whenever I'm talking to club leaders that want to make drastic change in their club, I encourage them to be very thoughtful and hopefully if they have a succession plan, include upcoming leaders in their clubs. So it can be a multi-year shift versus a sudden shift. because if we have a sudden shift, what I've seen happen is that things might work well for a period of time when that leader is in place, and then they exit after their term and things kind of shift back. So if you want it to be a lasting change, you got to get buy in from a multiple club leaders and over time and be thoughtful about not trying to do everything all at once. Pick one thing, do that, but have it in the plan over the course of the next few years.

Speaker 2 That's a great point. And in our district, district Governor Lindsay, we just I just got the email, I think everyone would have as well, the Caribbean Resiliency Initiative and PDG David, you would know this better than I would. It pretty much lays out that plan across the upcoming two district governors. So it's not just all one chokehold of somebody trying to chew off more than they humanly can in twelve months, but really doing exactly what you said there, Karen.

Speaker 3 Yeah. I think, continuity across leadership is so important. certainly on the, on the district leadership side, we have the good fortune of knowing, sort of the lead up over three years. And for a portion of the, the final, part of the rotary year, you actually through the district governor nominee designate, you actually have in theory the next three after the current DG. So if you have a concept of a long term objective that you'd like for the district you have an opportunity to work across multiple years, um, to ensure that something that the next district governor for district seventy twenty might wish to introduce. He can discuss that with the current. He can also discuss that with with the district governor that's going to come after him or her. And that's fantastic within the club level. With our elections not happening until I think around November time period, you have less opportunity. Some clubs have a good lead up to their, next board, at least their president is, is already identified. But I can tell you from traveling through district seventy twenty just a few years ago, there are a great number of clubs, especially smaller clubs, that struggle to identify their future leadership. And by future, I mean just the very next year for reasons of varied amount of reasons, but, you know, primarily size of the club. And we all know of instances of small clubs that everybody has been president and or most people have been president, some have been president multiple times. it becomes a bit more challenging there, as to how to, to advise them on, on longer term planning. But at its core, having that continuity of planning and unity of purpose is a good thing. And it does help to that ship that you're talked about at the start of the segment. It does help if you're trying to turn it to have everybody working the various, you know, somebody on the steering, somebody changing the direction of the propellers. You you have a team working on turning it as opposed to, here's my big, bold idea that I'm going to accomplish this year. And then you wonder why six months later, the the rest of the crew are not following you. I think I've just mish mashed several different, analogies. And In that example. But I think you get what I'm trying to say.

Speaker 2 Now, David, you're spot on. I mean, it goes to show in the business of, why someone joins and what keeps them. We see that it is not just one simple thing. Yes, we come for the fellowship or you come for the service, or you come for the networking. But there is a big engine that's happening here. It's happening from a district level. It's happening from a zone level. It's happening from many different experiences that get pours into so many different ways. That amplifies the experience of a club membership. You know, I've personally felt that. And Karen, I would love to hear of any stories that you can share within your own district that reflect what's in your heart that you want to share that matters for membership that you want to have transcend throughout the clubs?

Speaker 4 I would love for every member of rotary to feel like they matter and that their contributions matter, and that when we add up all of our contributions together, every bit matters. That's kind of my message this year to my clubs in the district, just to not forget that even if you can't be the one to spearhead the project, or you can't write the big check to the foundation, the little bit that you do to help makes a difference. When we put them all together, those bits add up and we are changing the world.

Speaker 2 I mean, I had this question, for you, for any club president listening to you now, what would be one thing that you would tell them to commit in terms of how they think? I think you just did that.

Speaker 4 I don't necessarily feel like I have all the answers. And when, when you messaged me that this was all going to be about membership, I thought, oh, that is tough because membership is complicated. And if any one of us had the answer to how to grow membership, definitely then membership would not be an issue. We would be overrun. So I think none of us have the exact answer. We're all trying to figure it out. We're trying to piece it together and trying to do our bit to make a difference.

Speaker 3 I would say also that rotary offers many different pathways to membership nowadays. back when I joined, there was one type of Rotary Club and it was the type of Rotary Club that had been around for ever. Now there are many types of rotary clubs, and that is a really great opportunity to meet people where they are at, for people to see themselves in a group that perhaps the traditional Rotary Club is not the group that they see themselves in, and that's okay. with the opportunity to have different types of clubs and impact clubs and companion clubs. You have an opportunity to create a club that reflects the passion and perhaps the very focused passion that you have. So instead of joining a traditional Rotary Club that throughout the year tries to address all seven areas of focus. you can join a club that is dialed in specifically on environmental issues or clean water and sanitation. and there are examples of that type of club in our district and many other districts. And so I think there's an opportunity either to join a club like that, create a club like that, or transition your traditional club, which has been struggling with its identity and waning perhaps over the years and finding out what is everybody in their passionate about and possibly change the change the focus of that club to something that really resonates with everybody and become more dialed in on that one topic. That will definitely help with retention, and it will focus your club on an area that will draw people in that are also passionate about that specific cause.

Speaker 2 Karen, as you think about Rotary's future, what gives you the greatest hope?

Speaker 4 Every time I go to a rotary event, whether it's with my club or my district or outside of my district, I come away with new ideas and I'm inspired by what the people in rotary are doing. this is a group of people that genuinely care. When people ask me, what is rotary? Sometimes I tell them it's kind of like, in Miss Congeniality, where everyone wants world peace. I think that that's really who we are. We're really a group of people who want to help make the world a better place, and we want to help do it at home, and we want to help do it around the world. And that is the energy in the room when you're with people who have that passion Is infectious and inspiring.

Speaker 2 One hundred percent. I've had my infectious and inspiring moment and we talked about this earlier as well. At the first district conference I attended, which was in Cayman. And you walked up the stairs into the room meeting people that I have no clue about for the very first time, welcoming you like they've known you their entire life. And I'm like, oh my God, this is amazing. I never want to leave.

Speaker 3 So now just wait till you just wait till you

Speaker 3 attend an international convention.

Speaker 2 Oh, boy. Barcelona.

Speaker 4 wait till you come to the, seventy six ninety conference exchange. Right. We're going to do that this year.

Speaker 2 absolutely. Now, I do have a final question for you. DJ Karan, imagine someone has discovered this conversation today who has never attended a rotary meeting. What would you like to say directly to that person?

Speaker 4 Check us out. But don't feel that the first club you visit is how every Rotary Club is. We each have a different personality. We have different areas that we support and it's important that you find the right match. It will not offend anyone in the first club that you visit. If you find a better match somewhere else. We care about helping people find where they fit and I encourage you to just try it out and try out several clubs if you have that option.

Speaker 2 District Governor Karen, thank you. This has been far more than a conversation about membership month. It's been a conversation about people, about belonging and about the responsibility each of us hold in creating rotary experiences where others feel genuinely welcomed, valued and inspired to serve. District Governor Karen, thank you for being our guest, sharing your journey, your wisdom, and your heart with us today. And to everyone listening, thank you for spending this time with us. If today's conversation has reminded you why you first said yes to rotary or inspired you to extend an invitation to someone else, then we've achieved exactly what we hoped for. Because rotary doesn't simply grow through membership drives, it grows one invitation, one relationship, one meaningful experience at a time. Until next time. I'm Rotarian Nerissa.

Speaker 3 And I'm past District Governor David Kirkaldy.

Speaker 2 Thank you all for listening to Voices of District seventy twenty. That's a wrap.