President Roy called the meeting to order, and we sang a patriotic song. Dennis Burke’s inspiration highlighted that 12% of Americans live in poverty. He emphasized that poverty is not an unsolvable problem and called on the audience to support efforts to eliminate it in our community. Downs Herold led us in “Sing out a Song to Rotary” and Kennan Robins baffled us with his clues to the identity of the “mystery Rotarian”. Spoiler alert – it was Jim Irwin (right).

Announcements:

• During our week off for Art Fair Rotarians were busy marching in the Fourth of July Parade, passing out ice cream and cookies at the City of Ann Arbor’s Bicentennial Park dedication, and distributing art supplies during the Dart for Art event.
• Volunteers are still needed for the Annual Golf and Entertainment fundraiser on September 14^th. Contact Melissa Foster to sign up m2foster@sbcglobal.net
• New name badges will be passed out at the July 29^th The historic “badge board” will be retired and replaced by badge suitcases.
• Reminder that our August 12^th meeting will be held at the Vanderberg Room of the Michigan League.

John White introduced member Rona Hu who presented findings from a member survey conducted in collaboration with the Michigan Program in Survey and Data Science. There were 103 complete responses received over nine days in March and April, examining topics including member retention, recruitment, satisfaction, and participation in club activities.

The survey focused on analyzing results about member satisfaction and participation in our Club. The survey showed high overall satisfaction (86%) and loyalty (84% would recommend the club) but identified key barriers to full participation including time constraints and scheduling conflicts, particularly among working-age members. The analysis revealed a fellowship gap among newer members, with 24% of members with 5 years or less in the club disagreeing that they felt a sense of belonging. The team recommended several actionable changes including making fellowship more intentional through mentor systems and table prompts, piloting evening or weekend meetings, and improving digital outreach to better reach potential future members.

Rona presented a comprehensive summary of member feedback and recommendations for improving club engagement and recruitment. She highlighted that while the club has strong service programs and meaningful legacy, there are opportunities to improve member engagement through better fellowship opportunities, particularly for working-age members, and more transparent communication about club activities and financial information.

Rona closed by expressing gratitude to her former director Dr. Michael Elliott and Dr. Michael Traugott who guided the RCAA member survey project in the Design Seminar class (Professors in the Michigan Program in Survey and Data Science); Dr. Brady West Rona’s Master’s thesis advisor (Professor in the Michigan Program in Survey and Data Science and Biostatistics) and her current supervisor Dr. Donovan Maust, a geriatric psychiatrist working on the National Dementia Workforce Study, an $81M grant from NIA/NIH (Professor in the UM Medical School).