Rotary Has More to Offer Than Service
Our speaker was RI President for 2020-2021 Holger Knaack. While he spoke about the need for Rotary Clubs to continue leveraging Zoom to come together amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he outlined his vision for Rotary to become a more inclusive organization
        full report inside.

Report of the Week – Meeting of July 23rd
by Andreas Runggatscher

 
The first meeting of 2020-2021 year of the Rotary Club of New York took place on Zoom on July 23, 2020. The speaker was Rotary International President for 2020-2021 Holger Knaack, a member of the Rotary Club of Herzogtum Lauenburg-Mölln, Germany. While he spoke about the need for Rotary Clubs to continue leveraging Zoom to come together amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he outlined his vision for Rotary to become a more inclusive organization.

With the Rotary Convention approaching in Taiwan in June 2021, President Knaack mentioned that the Convention might leverage a hybrid model that could diversify participation globally. He emphasized using informational videos as a method of making the virtual Rotary meetings more appealing.

While growing Rotary is a theme for the 2020-2021 year, President Knaack emphasized the need for Rotary to attract members who are a good fit for their club and focus on retention. One of the goals he listed for Rotary membership was making Rotary more inclusive with young professionals, women, and Rotaractors. Staying abreast of current events, President Knaack emphasized the need for Rotary to be involved in social justice and inclusion issues.

He concluded his presentation by emphasizing the need for Rotary and Rotaract Clubs to collaborate to create inter-generation dialogue and problem solving. While commending the professional development opportunities from District 7230 in New York, he emphasized that Rotary has much more to offer than service, especially to young professionals.