What I Learned from Visiting the Denver Southeast Rotary Club
Every once in a while, I leave a Rotary meeting thinking less about what happened and more about how it made me feel. That was my experience after visiting the Denver Southeast Rotary Club.
As District Membership Chair, I have the privilege of visiting clubs throughout our district. Every club has its own personality, traditions, and strengths, and I enjoy every visit because there is always something to learn. But this visit stayed with me long after I drove home.
Join me as I share what I experienced.
From the moment I walked through the door, I never felt like a visitor. I felt like I belonged.
On the drive home, I found myself asking why. It wasn't the meeting agenda. It wasn't the speaker. It wasn't even that I knew a few of the people in the room.
It was something much simpler: membership wasn't something the club was doing. It was simply who the members were.
Ironically, I barely had a chance to visit with the people I knew. At most clubs, that might have felt awkward. Here, it meant something entirely different — I was never left standing alone wondering who to talk to. Conversation after conversation simply happened. Different members introduced themselves, shared what they were passionate about, asked about my club, and became genuinely curious about what I was working on.
I doubt I'll remember the names of the first handful of people I met. But I'll never forget how they made me feel.
Every conversation became a connection. Bill Magnusson told me he drives from Erie every single week because this club is worth the drive — that says a lot. Peter Van Arsdale immediately began talking about ways Erie Rotary and WASH could work together. Bill Shaw introduced me to Joshua Hellman, and within days, Joshua had agreed to join one of our upcoming Membership Huddle UP! conversations. Doug Imhoff shared a fundraising idea that I immediately began imagining other Rotary clubs and nonprofit organizations benefiting from. I only spoke with Gayle, the membership chair, for a few minutes, but I drove home thinking, I need to get to know her better. Those are the kinds of people who make you want to come back. (p.s. Gayle and I scheduled lunch soon afterwards).
One of the things I've come to believe is that a Membership Chair's role is to keep the scanners moving — to notice who is new, who hasn't spoken yet, who may be standing alone, and to help every person feel seen, heard, and valued. Ironically, while I was there looking through that district membership lens, I was the one who walked away feeling seen.
As the meeting ended, Steve Werner caught my attention.
"We need to get coffee."
He's right. We've known each other for quite a while through Rotary, but we've never really taken the time to know one another. That conversation reminded me that Rotary relationships don't stop at the meeting room door.
Later that afternoon, I looked through the club roster and started smiling because I recognized so many names from district activities. It reminded me of an iceberg — during one meeting I probably met only ten percent of the members, but it was obvious there was another ninety percent beneath the surface, quietly contributing to the life of the club and to Rotary throughout our district.
If I had one wish, it would be this: I wish every Rotarian — and honestly, every Rotary alumnus — would occasionally visit another club. Not because another club has all the answers, and not because we're looking for the "perfect" Rotary club, but because every club has something worth learning from.
For me, Denver Southeast reminded me what Rotary feels like when people genuinely enjoy being together, stay curious about the person standing in front of them, and naturally help others find their place.
As Membership Chairs, we often spend a lot of time talking about attracting new members. This visit reminded me that the real opportunity may be even simpler:
Build a club where people feel like they belong from the moment they walk through the door. Everything else has a way of growing from there.