Chairman

THE ATTENDANCE COMMITTEE

(Subcommittee of the Club Service Committee)

The attendance committee is com-
posed of a chairman (a member of the
club service committee) and such other
members as the needs of the local club
may require. In a small club it may
consist of but one member whereas in a
large club it may have several members.

The attendance committee stimulates
attendance preferably through a quiet
system of personal follow up. This
stimulation is not for the sake of at-
tendance alone, but also to help every
member fully to participate in the
activities of the club.

The attendance committee should:

1. Become thoroughly familiar with
the attendance contest rules which
are given in Pamphlet No. 21, “Ro-
tary Club Attendance Rules—Ques-
tions and Answers” (to be found in
the club secretary’s office).

2. Become familiar with Section 7 of
Article IV of the standard club con-
stitution (obtainable in the club sec-
retary’s office).

3. See that all members of the club
understand the rules governing at-
tendance, particularly with regard
to the privilege of receiving credit
for attendance at another club.

4. Study the attendance average of the
club for the preceding year. (The
aggregate average for all clubs in
the United States and Canada is
approximately 85 per cent.)

5. Study individual members’ attend-
ance records and make an effort to
ascertain the cause of repeated ab-
sences.

6. Call to the attention of the aims and
objects committee any information
concerning lack of interest as a
cause of unusual absences.

7. Follow a member’s absence by a
letter or telephone call to let him
know he has been missed.

8. Plan interclub or intraclub contests
of various kinds.

From the secretariat of Rotary Inter-
national are available (free) papers de-
scribing plans used successfully by
Rotary club attendance committees.

* *« *

ATTENDANCE—A MEANS TO

AN END

Occasionally one meets or hears of a
Rotarian who is not only justly proud
of a long, unbroken record of attend-
ance, but makes attendance an end in
itself and not a means to worthier ends.

What are the rewards of attend-
ance—those ends to which *attendance
is a means?

Relaxation

Not most important, and yet by no
means unimportant, is relaxation. How
refreshing it is to a man whose days
are filled with the busy duties of com-
mercial, industrial, or professional life,
to spend an hour in the company of
those he knows and likes well! This is
especially true in days of stress like the
present. A Rotarian can testify to the
wholesome recreation he finds in such
company and to the physical and men-
tal benefit of getting away for even a
brief period from the perplexities and
demands of store, factory, or office.

Information

Another reward of attendance is in-
formation. In conversation with his
fellow members in other lines of busi-
ness, from the reports and announce-
ments, and from the speaker of the day,
the Rotarian who is present at a meet-

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