This will be my third and final article in the Rotary in Great Britain and Ireland Annual Report since being appointed as your Rotary International (RI) Director 2021-23 back in December 2019.

During that interview I shared a vision for Rotary GB&I to be a flagship region for the Rotary world. What an incredible few years it has been!

I don’t think I could possibly have imagined in my wildest dreams at that time that we would be where we are right now. So, it seems somewhat ironic that our first female RI President Jennifer Jones picked ‘Imagine’ as her theme for the year and chose to appoint me to serve as her Vice President.

Rotary International Vice President, Nicki Scott (left), with President Jennifer Jones (right) were on stage together as part of Rotary GB&I’s Volunteer Expo in May 2022.

2022-23 was a whirlwind year for me personally for sure. I visited 12 countries in just ten months after lockdown restrictions finally lifted and had an additional two visits to the United States for RI Board Meetings and International Assembly.

I have to admit it was hard to stay on top of all of my Rotary GB&I responsibilities as a Director and inaugural member of our first Rotary GB&I Board as well. On reflection, it was perfect timing that our new Board took office on 1st July 2022 and were in a position to lead our strategic direction and support of our districts, clubs and members here at home.

It was great to see members who had not yet even been a Club President as well as seasoned Rotarians volunteer to serve on the Board for 1 to 3 year terms - all willing to bring their skills, time and experience to the table for the greater good of Rotary. Please know that you too can apply to serve in any leadership position now in Rotary GB&I. The only role now requiring Past District Governor status is that of RI Director. All appointments will be made based on skillsets and experience.

ONE REGION ONE ROTARY

There are, in truth, so many people to thank for the transformational changes we have been making here in Rotary GB&I over these past 3 years. There is no doubt that the term #bettertogether has been proven to be true.

We all know very well that not everyone jumps at embracing change and there is a natural tendency to resist and stay in our comfort zones. We all owe a debt of gratitude to those who stepped forward and volunteered to shoulder the additional responsibilities and challenges of championing and leading through change.

I am not just referring to the inaugural Board members, I would also like to personally thank the past three years’ worth of District Governors, incoming District Governors, Specialist Adviser Team Leads and Members, Assistant Governors, Club Presidents, grassroots Rotarians and Rotaractors and our Rotary Support Centre team, who personally contributed in some way to help #buildforwardbetter.

It all started back in 2020-21 at the onset of the Covid Pandemic no less and in many ways that served to propel us forward faster as we started to embrace the wider world of Rotary beyond our club, district and country borders through the wonders of technology. The last two Annual Reports detail the initiatives taken over the last two years so let’s focus now on what happened this year beyond the incredible work of all our members highlighted in other contributions to this Annual Report.

Having been recognised by RI as one of two Regional Pilots in the world, the other being Zone 8 in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, we were able to get significant changes supported by the RI Board this year.

In addition to the launch of the Regional Board, our Clusters of Districts began to collaborate and offer support to each other. If we are to increase the perceived relevance of Rotary among the public in the communities we serve, then we need to become much less fragmented in our efforts. Each of these Cluster groups will have a dedicated team of well-trained Specialist Advisers supporting them covering Membership, Public Image, Foundation, Humanitarian Service and Leadership Development.

In January 2023 our Specialist Adviser Teams, (formerly RI appointed Coordinator positions), were recognised by both The Rotary Foundation Trustees and the RI Board and an additional budget of $35,000 was approved in support of our additional Humanitarian Service and Leadership Development roles.

On the back of that modest success, we decided to go big and put together a proposal to the April 2023 RI Board meeting for an additional $800,000 investment over a three-year period and were over the moon that the request was granted in principle, on the basis that additional information be provided.

And so in follow up, our Pilot Advisory Group: Past President Tom Griffin, Rotary GB&I Board Chairs Garth Arnold (2022-23), Nitesh Joshi (2024-25), Heather Stuart (2025-26), RI Training Leader Chris Davies, General Secretary Amanda Watkin and myself as Chair, all worked hard to put together a detailed Rotary GB&I Growth Plan to almost double our membership back to 60,000 members by 2028.

This was approved by the GB&I Regional Board on 17th August 2023. It was then submitted to the Rotary International Executive Team on 31st August 2023 and subsequently approved by their full Board of Directors on 18th October 2023. This has now become known as our North Star pilot project.

NORTH STAR PILOT PROJECT

It is important to note that the North Star pilot project is a holistic approach to growth that encompasses all four priorities of our Action Plan with the intention to Increase our Impact, Expand our Reach, Enhance Participant Engagement and Increase our Ability to Adapt. It is not “just another membership drive”. The plan submitted for investment approval detailed the whole background story of all the strategic changes that had already taken place and been achieved as well as future goals and objectives. Essentially North Star is Phase 4 of our ongoing transformation.

So, what is this really all about? For more information, please sign into the Members Area of our Rotary GB&I website and visit the North Star page. In particular the paper I submitted in October 2023 which can be found here: ‘WHY North Star?’

At the end of the day we really want to be sure that all the work that our Rotarians and Rotaractors have done over these past decades is remembered for years yet to come, and that Rotary gains the public recognition and perceived relevance it deserves here in Great Britain and Ireland, for all the work we do to make our world a better place.

In conclusion, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the very best to the next Rotary GB&I Board and RI Director Eve Conway as they take the lead in helping us all strive to deliver on RI President 2023-24’s, our very own Gordon McInally, call to action to Create Hope in the World.

Last, but my no means least, a huge thankyou to every single one of you for all you have done and still do in the name of Rotary Service Above Self.

Let’s all shoot for the moon!