Meet your Governors
Education, RC Moradabad Bright, RID 3100
From an Ann to district leader
Deepa Khanna began her Rotary journey as a Rotary Ann, helping with the polio National Immunisation Days (NIDs) in Moradabad. She joined her husband in convincing mothers to bring their children for polio drops. “Only Rotary has the skill to convince people in these vaccine-resistant places. I was truly impressed by Rotary’s power,” she says.
Encouraged by her husband, Anil Khanna, Deepa joined Rotary and took on higher roles in the district. As DG she has set a Foundation-giving goal of $1.5 million and introduced the ‘Sunshine Box’ for each club “to encourage non-giving members to donate at least $1 per meeting.”
To address the issue of members leaving at the end of the Rotary year, Deepa has asked clubs to make meetings more interactive and understand members’ interests. She has also made it mandatory for new members to attend the district conference this year.
Deepa is focused on aligning with Rotary’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policy and diversify club membership, include more women members, and create awareness on LGBTQIA.
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Education, RC Jabalpur South, RID 3261
Mentorship for new members
Akhil Mishra began his Rotary journey in 2016. During the Covid lockdown “I saw the true power of Rotary. We were not just donating food, and other necessary items. We were alleviating people’s suffering in many ways,” he says.
On the day of his installation the district donated a bus worth ₹21 lakh to a blind school. The district is also donating dialysis equipment to hospitals and starting a rehabilitation centre for children with mental disabilities. A project to conduct paediatric heart surgeries is in the pipeline.
Mishra focuses on membership engagement and retention, implementing a mentorship programme pairing new members with senior Rotarians to help them understand Rotary better. After getting a list of members who have left Rotary in his district, he plans to reconnect with them. “I want to find out the reason they left and encourage them to come back.”
Committed to DEI, Mishra is urging his clubs to conduct awareness seminars and explore initiatives such as chartering a transgender club.
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Auto parts distributor, RC Amenity Bardhaman, RID 3240
Ensuring continuity
He joined Rotary in 1998 on one condition: Never ask me to get on the dais and address a gathering. “But my fear of public speaking vanished, all thanks to Rotary.”
This year, Sukhminder aims to introduce 250 new members, “focusing on young members, Rotaractors, Interactors, and women. The contributions of women Rotarians and their innovative ideas in our district are remarkable.” To retain members, the district is implementing orientation programmes and aligning service projects with members’ skills, while promoting district projects on social media to enhance Rotary’s public image. Clubs must now have a three-year strategic plan to effectively promote Rotary, is his edict.
His target for TRF-giving is $700,000.
Building on IPDG Nilesh Agarwal initiatives, Sukhminder is committed to completing CSR projects related to the environment, providing machinery to hospitals and constructing a crematorium.
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Software, RC Chennai Mitra, RID 3234
Focus on cancer screening, fellowship
Saravanan encourages members to explore rotary.org and read Rotary News to enhance their understanding of Rotary. He emphasises “informed inductment”, advising potential members to learn about Rotary, attend a minimum of three club meetings, involve their spouses, and engage in club projects before induction.
He urges club presidents to highlight Rotary’s global impact and introduce fellowship groups to new members. With 30 per cent of the district leadership held by women, his focus is on women’s health and empowerment, initiating breast cancer screening drives for women Rotarians, Anns, Annets and Rotaractors. A Rotary Community Corps for transgenders has also been started.
Saravanan has introduced the Magic 30 piggy banks, encouraging club members to donate ₹30 daily “so they can each contribute at least $100 to TRF at the end of the year.” A major project under his leadership is providing 100 bio-toilets to the Chennai traffic police.
