1. Does it matter where I park?
Club 29 members and guests can park free in any of the 756 parking spaces surrounding St. Luke’s. A map of the various parking lots will be available at each of our Tuesday lunch meetings and online. The map was also included in the letter to each member announcing the move. The lots closest to the room we’ll be meeting in are labeled “South”, “Southwest” and “West” and are adjacent to 14th Street and Harvey.
2. Will lunch be plated or buffet line?
There will be 2 buffet stations, with access on each side, for a total of 4 lines. A plated option will be available for those in attendance whose physical needs preclude going through the buffet line. Club members will also be available to assist in those situations.
3. Can I turn in my extra parking tickets and get a refund?
Yes. Please turn them in at the registration desk and your Club account will be credited.
4. Will we get bumped from St Luke’s if they have a funeral meal or other function that conflicts?
We have been assured that no funeral lunches will conflict with our meetings. In addition, to avoid parking congestion, no funerals will be scheduled between the hours of 10 am and 2 pm each Tuesday.
5. What space is available for Club Committees to meet before or after our Tuesday lunch and how do I reserve that space?
There are 25 adult classrooms in the facility, including 10 on the ground floor. Each classroom can be reserved through the St Luke’s office with 24 hours advance notice. In order to allow us to track the usage, we’d like members to initially reserve a meeting room at St Lukes through our own Club Office. The Christian Life Center is also spacious enough to accommodate brief huddles before or after our lunch meeting.
6. How do I know the food will be better?
St Luke’s prepares meals on site, in their full service kitchen with their own staff of 7. They have a full service food ministry serving several locations. Food preference is a very personal matter and varies by individual. Come to a meeting and see for yourself.
7. What transportation options are available for those who have previously walked?
Several members of our Club are arranging informal carpool arrangements for members who’ve previously walked from their downtown offices. We’ll post more information on how to tap into that. Later this year, the streetcar will begin operation and will travel as far north as 11th street, with a stop between Harvey and Robinson, which means a short walk to 14th street.
8. What were the issues with the AV at the Petroleum Club and what will be different at St Luke’s?
Our Club has been trying to work with the Petroleum Club management for nearly a decade to improve the visual and audio quality of the equipment. Most members are not aware of the challenges our Media Committee and staff faced each week trying to get the equipment to work properly. Sometimes the screens work, sometimes they don’t. The sound is erratic. The equipment doesn’t always read a presenter’s file. The column in the center of the room precludes use of the remote intended to be used by the presenter to advance their presentations. For those doing a make-up meeting online and trying to view the video, the sound was inadequate because of the location of the microphone. The staff of the Petroleum Club was not able to assist with any of the technical issues. The Petroleum Club management would not upgrade equipment unless our Club agreed to pay a substantial weekly usage fee. Equipment they intended to purchase was sub-par and not much better than the existing equipment. As an aside, recent prominent guest speakers at our meetings have indicated they chose not to bring any presentation requiring use of our AV equipment because they’d heard that the equipment at the Petroleum Club was unreliable.
On the other hand, St Lukes has made a significant investment in a state of the art AV system. Its features include a confidence monitor and laptop at podium. The facility has a full time staff with 2 AV techs who will assume responsibility for the operation of the equipment for our meetings.
9. Will our new venue be similar to the one where the Downtown Tulsa Club meets?
Other than being located inside a church-owned facility, there are no similarities.
10. When the Club’s meetings were relocated in the past, the decision was made by a majority vote of the entire Club. Why was this decision handled differently? Who voted on it?
On average, approximately 30% of our Club members attend weekly meetings, so it didn’t seem to make sense to allow every member to vote on a decision that would not affect many of them. Your Board of Directors voted on the change.
11. Are we going to change our name from the Downtown Oklahoma City Rotary Club to the Midtown Oklahoma City Rotary Club?
The name of our Club is the Rotary Club of Oklahoma City.
12. How will moving affect our food choices? The same people will be catering.
Our meals will not be catered at St Luke’s. St Luke’s has several full-time chefs and all food is prepared in their on-site kitchen at the location where we’ll be meeting.
13. What will be the charge for a guest lunch? Will it change from the current $27?
For the time being, the guest lunch fee will remain at $27.
14. Do we expect this change to affect attendance at the Thursday breakfast meeting? How about attendance at our Tuesday meetings?
We have no reason to believe this change will impact the Thursday breakfast meeting. We do expect to see an increase in attendance on Tuesdays, based on the feedback from our Membership Survey.
15. Don’t most of our Club members walk to meetings?
Based on the recent Membership Survey, only approximately 50 members of our Club self-reported walking to our Tuesday meetings. The majority of our members, especially those with high attendance, report they drive to our meetings.
16. How will this move impact the Club’s economics, will it save money or cost money?
It is too soon to project the impact of this change.
17. We have maintained a very long period without a dues increase, will this move affect dues?
It is too early to project the impact of this change. As always, we will continue to monitor our financials closely.
18. What was the sense of the Board as to the impact on membership when this was approved?
Your Board of Directors believes this will improve the overall meeting experience for members, guests, and our invited speakers. Ease and cost of parking, building access, food choice and quality, and audio-visual performance will all be significantly improved.