By Jesse Allerton, Rotary Programs staff
RI President Gary C.K. Huang is encouraging all Rotary members to Light Up Rotary in 2014-15 “by sharing our service, strengthening our clubs, and letting our light shine in our communities.”
Hosting a Rotary Day is a great way for clubs to put the President’s theme into action. It’s simple: hold a fun, informal event in your community to introduce the general public to Rotary and drive interest in membership and other opportunities for engagement. You can refer to the Rotary Days brochure for ideas on how to structure and promote a Rotary Day event and find more tips in this article from the July edition of Rotary Leader.
Remember to share photos, videos, and stories of your event with the Rotary community and beyond. Here are just a few ways you can publicize your impact:
- Post photos of your event on Instagram using the hashtag #RotaryDay
- Tweet promotional information and updates, also using the hashtag #RotaryDay
- Post a video of your Rotary Day on YouTube and email a link and description to rotary.service@rotary.org. Videos may be featured in Rotary media and one outstanding video will receive a special award plaque from the President.
- Share your story with Rotary staff for possible inclusion in a blog, newsletter, or The Rotarian magazine. Contact us at rotary.service@rotary.org.
- Visit the President’s web page to view a calendar of upcoming Rotary Day events or add your event to the calendar.
How will you Light Up Rotary?
Rotary Days aren’t the only way to let our light shine! From planning adult literacy classes to installing water filters to hosting vocational training programs, our members are rolling up their sleeves and launching humanitarian projects to improve their communities all around the world.
How will your club Light Up Rotary in the coming year? Share your plans using the comment feature below.
Service in Action 
For Vocational Service Month each October, the Rogue Gateway Rotary Club of Grants Pass, Oregon honors a non-Rotarian with our Vocational Service Award. We solicit nominations from our four local clubs, past winners, and the general public through a press release. All nominees are invited to the awards program as our guests and are encouraged to bring family, friends, and colleagues (also as our guests). Past winners are invited to sit at the head table for the festivities. The MC wears a tux and hams it up a la the Academy Awards. Each nominee is introduced by their nominator, who presents them with a certificate of recognition (photo op). The winner gets a plaque (photo op) and names an organization (not affiliated with a church or political group) to receive a $100 donation from our club. The winner returns in a month or so to present a program on the works which led to their nomination and to present the $100 to a representative of the organization (photo op). Photos are posted on our Facebook page and included in press releases. We also encourage our own members to bring guests to this meeting and tie it to membership recruitment.