Posted by David Brown on Jul 29, 2019
All of us are ambassadors of Rotary and of our club.  Do you remember who invited you to Rotary?  Did someone call you and invite you to your first meeting or did you seek out Rotary on your own?
 
In my case, I not only had a moderate knowledge of Rotary through my father who was a member in our home town, but early in my career in the early sixties I was involved in the initial cover design for a new regional magazine which was to be known as Rotary Down Under, working with the first editor Paul Henningham.
All of us are ambassadors of Rotary and of our club.  Do you remember who invited you to Rotary?  Did someone call you and invite you to your first meeting or did you seek out Rotary on your own?
 
In my case, I not only had a moderate knowledge of Rotary through my father who was a member in our home town, but early in my career in the early sixties I was involved in the initial cover design for a new regional magazine which was to be known as Rotary Down Under, working with the first editor Paul Henningham.
 
We were living in Blaxland in the Lower Blue Mountains at the time and it was Paul who nominated me a couple of years later for membership in the then Rotary Club of Blaxland-Springwood after inviting me to a meeting held in the Glenbrook Bowling Club.  I remember the feeling of trepidation when I finally agreed to go.
 
I was a little nervous and a tad overwhelmed when I arrived, as meeting new people was hardly my forte.  However, when invited to join I accepted immediately and I have never regretted that move.  During my time at Blaxland-Springwood I served for a number of years on the board including President and when Paul Henningham became District Governor I served on his district committee as Vocational Service Director.
 
Then moving from the mountains back to Sydney, with my business growing substantially and with three teenage boys, I was approached by Ron Mewburn, a member of the Rotary Club of Silverwater to join that club.  I resisted strenuously on the grounds that I was far too busy, but liek water on a stone, Ron refused to give up until I finally agreed, only then realising what I had been missing for four or so years.
 
My story reminds me that we need to do more than bring a friend, neighbour or a coworker to a meeting.  We need to be persistent, follow-up, invite them again and bug them until they join.  I for one, am very thankful that neither Paul or Ron would take no for an answer.
 
Rotary members have pushed polio to the brink of eradication, delivered clean water to those in need, improved their local communities, provided scholarships to the next generation of peacemakers, and continued to do good in the world.
 
August is Membership Month, which means it's time to celebrate our Rotary club, our members, and the good we do in your community and around the world.