Michelle and Ian at a breakfast meeting
Guest speaker Wayne Milnes, currently the lead of new member development for Rotary South Pacific, triggered a response in us when he spoke about recruiting Rotary new members and the need to engage and mentor them.
Clive and I joined Applecross Rotary Club at roughly the same time two years ago. Within a couple of months, President Margaret tapped us on the shoulder and appointed us to managing the guest speaker role.
She also referred us to Ian Fairnie, who had held the position for 20 years.
As we came from knowing absolutely nothing, Ian gently guided us into the art of reaching out, creating a calendar, following up and locking in potential guest speakers.
He eased us into the role. For the first couple of months, we phoned, texted and emailed Ian on a regular basis. Ian checked and edited our reports. With a light hand and never critical, he suggested, corrected, and set us on the right path.
Ian had such a gentle touch, we didn’t even know we were being mentored. He was always there for us. No question was too trivial. We gained confidence and he was quietly in the background, always showing great interest in our efforts.
He must have done a good job with us, because we have future guest speakers booked through till July, 2027!
To us as new members, and our role in weekly meetings, this is a great example of firstly involvement, and then great mentoring. You just can’t buy those things.
Clive Purt and Michele Muir