Contact: Mark Clemow

Email: president.rotarymtbarker@gmx.com
Phone Number: +61 (0)414 238 604
Specialist: Adrian Gregory
Ticket Created: January 17, 2025
Status: Resolved
Hi Adrian Greetings from the Rotary Club of Mount Barker in District 9510 South Australia. For some months, the leadership of the Rotary Clubs of Mount Barker and the Rotary Club of Blakiston Nairne have been discussing the future of the two Clubs. The Clubs are located within the same local government area and meet at the same place. Mount Barker is the main community, of about 22,000. The Rotary Club of Mount Barker is stable and successful and has 29 members. The Rotary Club of Blakiston Nairne is centred around the smaller community of Nairne, which is 6km from Mount Barker. The Club is very small and without an influx of new members before the end of this Rotary year, could be down to four members. Both Clubs consider this is not viable. The Rotary Club of Mount Barker is the sponsoring Club. We have been very keen to find a win-win solution that keeps Blakiston Nairne in control of their future. We do not want them to cease being a separate entity, but we also know that the current situation is untenable and risk their future being taken out of their hands. We looked at several options and the one we have agreed on is to convert the existing Rotary Club of Blakiston Nairne into a Satellite Club of Mount Barker. We are aware of the provisions of Rotary International and believe we can (creatively) meet them. It would give the existing members of Blakiston Nairne the independence they need, whilst increasing the oversight and engagement of Mount Barker. At this stage it seems the only “sticking point” for the members of Blakiston Nairne will be the name, as we understand a Satellite Club must adopt the name of the sponsoring Club. (We are hoping to find a creative solution for that). Note that when we looked at merging the Clubs into a new one, we saw two significant barriers that prevented us considering it further. One would be the loss of independence to Blakiston Nairne and the other would be the resistance of Mount Barker to rescind a 58 year old charter. My Board will approve the proposal to sponsor Blakiston Nairne as a Satellite Club at our meeting on Monday January 27th. Blakiston Nairne have agreed as a Club to proceed and I will be meeting with them on Wednesday February 19th to discuss a plan with a target date of July 1st. There seem to be plenty of resources on MyRotary about starting a Satellite Club, but nothing on converting a Rotary Club to a satellite Club. We are also wondering what happens to the charter for Blakiston Nairne. Is it handed back, or is it put into recess pending the growth of the Satellite Club precipitating its reestablishment? Are there other options for a seemingly unviable Rotary Club other than this pathway? We are keen on some guidance on next steps. Perhaps an initial conversation between the current and incoming leadership of each Club so we know exactly the position and requirements of Rotary International. If you feel this is better handled by someone more “local” I am happy for you to refer it to them. My first point of contact was District Governor Marie-louise Lees and my Regional Community Group 7 (of District 9510) leader Ian Chase, however they reminded me of the role of the specialists. Together we felt that you were the best contact. I look forward to hearing from you with some direction on next steps. Regards Mark Clemow President, Rotary Club of Mount Barker PS Be alert. There are two Rotary Clubs of Mount Barker in Australia. The other is in regional Western Australia (District 9423).

4 Responses

  1. Contacted and discussed the isue with Mark. On that basis he is proceeding with the proposed merger on a well considered, staged process and may, should he wishe to do so, involve me again as a faciliator during discussions between the clubs. We agreed to continue any further correspondence by direct emails, thus this ticket is resolved.

  2. Hi Adrian,

    I have had an enquiry from Mark via another contact that he is very keen to hear from you regarding this enquiry.

    I am just checking if you have had any communication with Mark at this stage.

    Kind regards,

    Tania Broadbent

    1. Thanks Tania, interesting that I didn’t get an alert for your message. I have responded to Mark… Adrian

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