Attendance Make-Up Policy  -- March 2006

Accountability to RI: The club has to report attendance figures to RI. In the recent past, our attendance percentage has hovered in the low 60s. Relative to an awful lot of other clubs, that is awfully low and, theoretically, puts us in danger of losing our charter.

Make-Ups: There are many ways to make up missed meetings. We all know we can attend a meeting of another Rotary club, a committee meeting at which minutes are taken, a district meeting, go to the Rotary convention, etc.

What you may not know is that, under the Rotary constitution, you can get make-up credit for attending and participating in a club service project or a club-sponsored community event. These include things such as mentoring, tutoring, delivering dinner to the RotaCare clinic, working at the art show, manning the Rotary booth at the Los Altos community picnic or the Business Expo, coaching soccer, assisting the sergeant-at-arms, and painting the Bus Barn in April. If you have a question about whether a service project or community event in which you participates counts as a make-up, just
ask!

Excused Absence: If you get a leave of absence, your absence counts against the attendance percentage. If, however, you have an excused absence, your absence does not count against the attendance percentage. Under the Rotary constitution, the board can excuse a member’s absence for any reason it considers to be “good and sufficient.” If you miss a meeting or several meetings for good reason – such as illness, hospitalization, caring for an ill spouse or child, or an extended trip out of the country – tell John Cardoza or a board member. Your absence may be excused.

Timely Reporting: John Cardoza reports attendance figures during the first week of the month. If you do not get make-up information to him by the time he submits his report, you are counted as absent. Committee secretaries should submit attendance (if not minutes) within a day or two of meetings and members should submit make-up information (by e-mail or telephone) as soon as possible.

Club Participation: All of this is not to say that members should not attend meetings regularly. Participation in the club, including regular attendance at the lunch meetings and committee membership is important. If you cannot get to a meeting, however, and qualify for a make-up or an excused absence, please let someone know so that we can improve our attendance percentage.