Dear friends,
In my family, the journey into Rotary happened in reverse.
My youngest child entered the Rotary family first, as a charter member of Interact Club Burgas and later a Rotaractor. My younger daughter followed. Today, both are Rotarians. Only afterwards did curiosity lead me to Rotary Club Bоurgas, in 2006.
The first attraction was human: friends, respected professionals, interesting personalities — people of integrity. The meaning of Service Above Self came later.
By 2012, Rotary seemed familiar: club service, district work, processes and communications. Then, at PETS in Plovdiv, Our District Secretary Dimitar and the DGE spoke about Rotary and The Rotary Foundation. Dimitar and I were friends through work — he brought Rotary knowledge; I brought IT experience. Yet that day he gave familiar information a new meaning.
The realisation was simple and lasting: Information is not knowledge.
A thought formed: One day, I want to stand where he stands — not for the position, but to understand Rotary as he did.
4 yes later, we stood together – he as district governor-elect, and beside him I stood as district secretary-elect. The development was not in our titles. It was in the journey from knowing processes to understanding purpose.
August is Membership and New Club Development Month. We often emphasise new: new members, new clubs, new numbers. This month, let us emphasise development.
Development begins where recruitment ends. It asks whether a new member will find purpose; whether a new club will understand its community; and whether both will remain active.
After several years without a new Rotary club in District 2482, the last Rotary year brought four new clubs. They came through intention, leadership and sustained work. Under the leadership of DG Plamen Tsvetkov, this showed what intention and persistence can achieve.
Public Image has a role in this development: not to advertise Rotary, but to make its meaning visible. When people understand what Rotary does and why it matters, visibility becomes attraction. When attraction is followed by trust and belonging, membership becomes development.
To those not yet part of Rotary: you do not need to understand everything before joining. Curiosity may be enough. Purpose can reveal itself later — through a project, a friendship or a person who inspires growth.
Let us welcome new members and build new clubs. Let us create the conditions in which people, clubs and communities can develop — and create lasting impact.