“You see a little movement,” said Bronston, who added since she joined Rotary five years ago, membership has remain stagnant.
Now, she hopes to increase membership, especially young professionals, females and minorities, two goals of Rotary International, she said.
She called young members “the life of any organization,” and right now — like most service organizations — the majority of Middletown Rotary members are retired, or near retirement age.
“Young people bring energy, new life and new ideas,” Bronston said after this week’s meeting at Central Connections, where the club meets at noon every Tuesday.
During the meeting, Dan Flory, membership chairman, said a survey was sent out to the members and 10 responded. He said the majority of them responded “excellent” or “adequate” to the questions on the survey. He called the results positive, but said there’s “room to improve.”
Bronston, also a member of Middletown City Council, said the survey presented “great feedback” and she welcomed the comments because she “handles complaints all the time.”
William “Kip” Moore, chairman of special projects, said some have suggested moving the noon meetings to the evening to make them more convenient for young professional. He said the Rotary may also host an after hours event as a way to introduce people to the Rotary.
Elaine Garver, chair of the Rotary Foundation, which provides scholarships and grants to college students, said in the last 30 years, the club has awarded about $530,000 in financial support to the Middletown area. She said the foundation reviews requests every quarter. The foundation was formed in 1969, and the goal is to have $1 million in assets by 2019.
Bronston said the Rotary also is considering fundraisers. She said after last year’s fruit sale was cancelled because of the high cost of produce, the group’s only fundraiser is a news magazine.
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