HYBRID MEETINGS KEEP ALL MEMBERS ENGAGED & CONNECTED!
Our Rotary District 5890 in the greater Houston area is in Rotary Zone 25B, and is paired with Rotary Zone 29.  Together, we are Rotary Region 36.  
The District 5890 leadership team and clubs would like to thank our Region 36 Technology and Communication Resources Coordinator, Past District Governor Bruce Baumberger, for creating the Hybrid Club Meeting Resources page on our Rotary Zone 25B and 29 website.  The information below is to be credited to Bruce and the team of experts in many Rotary district that want to help all clubs hold outstanding hybrid meetings for their members. 

The success of our transition to hybrid meetings is driven by ongoing extensive collaboration among the experts in each Rotary district. That collaboration generated the Hybrid Resources page at RotaryRegion36.org. Hundreds of our Region 36 clubs are consulting that page to learn hybrid best practices.  Take time to review it yourself and then make sure that your leadership team knows about our comprehensive resources.

If you would like to share your club’s hybrid experience or participate in the development of best practices, contact Bruce Baumberger, Past District Governor of Rotary District 6440, Region 36 Technology and Communication Resources Coordinator: gov.bruce@rotary6440.org.

why have hybrid club meetings?

One of the most significant impacts on Rotary membership growth, engagement and relevance during our 2021-2022 Rotary year will be the way Rotary clubs shift from primarily virtual club meetings to Hybrid Meetings (a combination of members meeting in-person and virtually).  Just as clubs effectively pivoted to virtual meetings, the next opportunity is to prepare for the in-person/virtual hybrid experience. In response to the pandemic, we’ve  adapted and learned much to carry forward as members want to gather again. The Hybrid Meeting model honors and serves both groups … those who wish to meet in person and members most comfortable attending virtually.
 
The Region 36 Hybrid Meetings Team is pleased to report that they are well positioned for the expansion of Hybrid meetings due to Rotary District 5950’s development of a comprehensive set of training materials accessible from this page (see below).  In addition, other Rotary zones, district and clubs are contributing best practice resources to help all of us conduct engaging, technically sound hybrid meetings.
 
A key aspect of the extent to which we Grow Rotary this year is the success of our clubs conducting hybrid meetings.  Clubs that offer hybrid meetings will experience improved member retention and attract more new members to enjoy the flexibility of attending meetings in person or virtually.  Another major benefit of hybrid meetings is the opportunity to schedule speakers from remote locations – strong clubs feature stimulating programs.
 
Joe Dols, Hybrid Support, Rotary Club of Prior Lake, MN - Rotary District 5960

Guide to Hybrid Resources

Rotary District 5950 held an in depth, one-hour Going Hybrid Training in-person/Zoom hybrid meeting to teach, train and model the hybrid approach to running effective meetings. Their complete hybrid resources (videos, PowerPoint, documents and a buying guide) are posted in left margin links and the sections below.  The combination of those resources and others developed by various hybrid meeting coordinators will help people gain the confidence, knowledge and technical resources to conduct effective hybrid club meetings.

hybrid training

Going Hybrid: The Zoom Hybrid Approach to Running Effective MeetingsVideo (1 hour) and Slide Deck. In the video you will see trainers John Crudele (2019-20 Past President, Eden Prairie AM), Bridget Hallstrom (Membership Director, Rotary Club of Edina) and Jewelie Grape (5950 District Governor Nominee) along with a panel of three Club Presidents who are running successful hybrid meetings. See and experience how to conduct an effective Zoom/in-person hybrid meeting. The training resources include:
  • The “why and how” of hybrid meetings
  • A clear overview of the technical requirements to host your club's hybrid meetings
  • Counsel from a panel of three Club Presidents who have adopted hybrid meetings
  • Q&A Notes from live training session
Hybrid Best Practices:  Engaging In-Person and Virtual MeetingsVideo (29:14) and  Slide Deck.  This presentation by John Crudele is a condensed version plus new best-practices learned since the The Zoom Hybrid Approach to Running Meetings was produced.
 
Hybrid Technical Considerations is a guide that provides suggestions, ideas and best practices to help get your club online without a lot of invention or experimentation.  Developed by Terry Weaver, Zones 33 and 34
 

Tech Setup "How to" Videos

Going Hybrid Set Up and Tips -Thanks to Rotary Districts 5950, 5960 and 6690 for providing much of the content for this guide.
Going Hybrid: Small Meeting Tech Set Up – Video (6:24) Created by John Crudele (Edina Prairie AM) and Terry Low (Bloomington), District 5950, provides an overview of what a small club needs to conduct hybrid meetings.
Going Hybrid: Large Meeting Tech Set Up – Video (9:17) Also created by John and Terry, this video provides the core hybrid tech basics for  mid to large clubs.
Large Club Tech Support Diagram - District 6250 (NOTE: Work in progress; available soon

Tech Setup Guide Templates

The Word templates in this section are provided by club hybrid meeting coordinators as editable documents. Use them to help create your hybrid tech setup guides.
 

Buying Guide

 
Log of Updates to the Hybrid Club Meeting Page - Update Log