On December 11, the Rotary Club of District 7910 Passport (Provisional) officially launched by electing officers and approving a draft of Club Bylaws. The initial set of officers is: Karin Gaffney (second from left), president and interim membership chair; Ron Bott (center), interim secretary and interim treasurer; Tatjana Kobb (on screen), foundation chair; and, Tamar Russell Brown (second from right), public-image co-chair, and Steve Jones-D'Agostino (holding screen), interim public-image co-chair. (The position of president-elect has yet to be filled.) Also shown is club member Sam Squailia (far right).
The next meeting of the Passport Club will be on December 30 at 6:00 p.m. (ET) via Skype. Tatjana Kobb, who is organizing the Skype call, may be reached at t.kobb@northeastern.edu.
Attendees of the December 11 organizational meeting for the new Passport Club also discussed holding an Inaugural Meeting/Open House, with the date, location and format yet to be determined. Rotary International requires at least 20 charter members in order for a Passport Club to apply for Club Charter. More than 900 qualified former Rotarians in District 7910 who left Rotary within the past five years will be the primary audience for this event.
Passport Club members attend meetings of other clubs in our district, help in those clubs' service projects and fundraisers, and do all the things club-based Rotarians do - except, on their own schedule. Passport Clubs are a perfect solution for people who wish to be Rotarians but also lack the flexible schedule to permit attendance at regular meetings. While the focus of membership recruitment for the club is on new members, the Passport Club is also suitable for Rotarians who would otherwise leave a club due to time commitments.
Ron Bott, chair of the District Membership Committee, may be reached at ron@bottgroup.com.
Karin Gaffney, president of the provisional Passport Club, may be reached at karinmgaffney@gmail.com.