Survey Completed, Visioning to Come

Healthy clubs take care to reach out to their members and address their concerns. Rotary Club of Great Falls is a healthy club. We have surveyed members on their satisfaction with the club and will use the results to chart the club's future direction.

The full survey results are reported later in this newsletter, but the good news is that overall, none of the 41 respondents was dissatisfied with the club, and 95% were either somewhat satisfied or satisfied, with 73% giving their satisfaction the highest possible rating.

We are grateful to evening member Zach Swartz for preparing, posting, and compiling the results for the survey.

What's next? President-elect Cari Yturri will be hosting a visioning session in her home at 437 Park Garden Road on Wednesday, April 17, from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Appetizers and beverages will be provided.

Join us to lay out the road map for an evening better Rotary Club of Great Falls!

Next Week at Rotary

This week at noon Rotary we'll hear from Dr. Jennings about the Boy Scouts of America at noon. Evening Rotary on Thursday will feature new blue badge-wearer Troy Hallsell speaking on the role of the historian. Join us at either time at the country club!

How Are We Doing? Members Respond

As noted in this week's opening article, recently 41 of our 110 reachable members - 37.27% - responded to the member satisfaction survey conducted online over the past 6 weeks. Results show that the satisfaction runs extremely high, but they also help us identify what members like and where we might improve.

A strong majority of respondents agree or somewhat agree with the following statements:

Club meetings are a good use of my time (96%).
The club does a good job involving members (88%).
Club members care about one another (98%).
The club reflects the demographics of the community (88% - but 10% disagree).
The club actively seeks to involve ? (95%).
There is the right amount of fundraising activities (88%).

Helpful comments: improve the demographics by recruiting more persons of color and broaden service projects beyond Camp Rotary.

Strong majorities of 80% or higher rate the following aspects of our meetings positively: meeting length, time for socializing, professional connections, variety of program topics, location and times, and speakers and programs. Smaller majorities gave positive ratings to our inclusion of Rotary International in meeting topics (61%) and meals/refreshments (75%). Helpful comments: include programs more designed to improve our general knowledge and add more professional networking activities.

Strong majorities of our members believe we have the right number of service projects in general and community service progress. Sixty-three percent think our number of international projects is just right, but 35% believe we have too few of them.

Strong majorities believe our service projects are well organized, make a difference in the community/world, and are personally meaningful. A strong theme throughout the comments was to add more service projects, particularly with local impact.

With respect to communication and responsiveness, strong majorities of respondents agree or somewhat agree that the club does a good job communicating to members (92%), listening to members (90%), seeking input and ideas from members (88%), acting regularly upon members' input (83%), and updating club processes (85%). A smaller but still significant majority (71%) are comfortable with the pace of change in the club. The addition of the evening membership option was the subject of enthusiastic comment throughout the survey.

Club engagement feedback was less impressive, but still positive. The following percentages agree or agree somewhat with the following statements:

I invite my friends, family, and colleagues to club events (73%)
I invite qualified prospective members to join the club (66%)
I frequently participate in my club's activities (81%)

However, 100% agree or somewhat agree that they are proud of the club, feel welcome, and make a valuable connection there. About 2/3 report that their family and friends see value in their membership.

With respect to expenses, more than 3/4 of the respondents found the dues, meals, requests for donations and requests for contributions just right. While one comment noted that we are a giving club, another noted that we need to be more invested in Rotary International.

All of this feedback will be invaluable as we chart our course for the future. Thank you, respondents, for your help!

Last Week at Rotary

Last week at noon, Dave Holland of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) briefed us on three issues that are top of mind with the agency and answered questions from the club.

The first issue is grizzly bear management. Dave said there is no question that the range of grizzlies in Montana is expanding. Grizzlies have been seen near Stanford, White Sulphur Springs, and even Two Dot. However, he cautioned, that's not entirely bad news. One indicator that the grizzlies are no longer endangered as a species is that the range of the Glacier National Park population is connected to the range of the Yellowstone National Park population. That appears to be progressing. In the meantime, FWP is working with farmers and ranchers to help them respond effectively to the presence of grizzlies.

Dave said chronic wasting disease, the second issue, will always be present in a small percentage of our deer population, but if that percentage escalates, it's a problem, so the agency keeps a close eye on it.

With respect to invasive aquatic species, Dave's remarks echoed those of a past speaker on the subject. A suspicious-looking sample was found in Canyon Ferry three years ago and the same year a "villager" (baby mussel) was found in Tiber Reservoir. FWP has intensified its efforts at ensuring that all watercraft is inspected and clean before being used on Montana waters. There have been no further spottings, so he is hopeful that our efforts are working.

Mark Finnicum again had the winning 50-50 ticket, but again failed to draw the winning card. The pot grows. The plot thickens.

Milestones

What a week for birthdays! Kurt Baltrusch and Troy Hallsell celebrate their birthdays today, Cari Yturri celebrates on Tuesday, and Tony DiLello blows out the candles on Friday. Best wishes to all of you from all of us!

Weekly Wisdom: Out of the Mouths of Babes

Here's how a group of first-graders completed the following proverbs:

Don't change horses ... until they stop running.

Strike while the ... bug is close.

It's always darkest before ... Daylight Savings Time.

You can't teach an old dog ... new math.

The pen is mightier than ... the pigs.

A penny saved is ... not much.