Posted by PDG Martha Weaver (Chateaugay)
At our District 7040 Conference, I had the pleasure of presenting 2018-2019 Rotary Citations to 34 of the 66 Rotary clubs in District 7040. Two of those were with Platinum Distinction, three with Gold, and 16 with Silver. Many clubs went from previously not being eligible for a Citation to being eligible with distinction. That was because clubs have been completing the goals, but not inputting their accomplishments into the system. There is a strategy that any club or district can use to increase Citation achievement.
  1. Ensure that club and district leaders have copies of the 2019-20 Rotary Citation brochure and 2019-20 Rotary Citation Achievement Guide.
  2. Make sure that club leaders and AGs know who can, and how to, input data into Rotary Club Central.
  3. Assess each club’s capacity to achieve the individual goals.
  4. If a club is unable to achieve 5 goals in each of the two categories or does not pay their RI dues on time, they will not be eligible for a Citation so efforts should be directed towards strengthening the club rather than achieving a Citation.
  5. If a club is obviously on track to achieve a Citation, track their progress and offer any assistance they need to ensure all data is input into Rotary Club Central.
  6. With all other clubs, determine what goals they are on track to achieve; and what goals they might be able to achieve with assistance. These are the areas where AG’s can offer assistance.
  7. Track goal achievement with a spreadsheet. Beginning in January the 2019-2020 Citation Report can be downloaded from Rotary International as a spreadsheet. It shows what each club has achieved and can be annotated with what still needs to be completed.
  8.  Get your hands dirty: If a club has achieved a goal, but for some reason does not check the achievement button, AG’s and DG’s can do it for them. I did this for a few clubs and notified them that they could change the goal back if they wished – no one did.
  9. Don’t be afraid to nag because it works. If for instance, in June, a club is $2 per capita short of meeting the annual fund goal, remind them to give.
The Rotary Citation recognizes Rotary clubs that support Rotary International’s strategic priorities, so it is a good way to measure how well clubs are doing. The 2019-2020 goals are much easier to achieve and to report than in prior years so most clubs can, with a little assistance, proudly achieve a Rotary Citation in 2019-2020.