Rotary Zones 21b & 27 Daily News Friday, Sept 18, 2015 Tony Pace Thursday night entertainment PDG Ulli Budelmann Tonight s All Rotarian Dinner was the official opening of the 2015 Rotary International Zones 21b and 27 Institute. With PDG Sherri Muniz as Zone Institute General Chair and emcee, the opening began with the ever impressive and moving presentation of the more than 200 flags that represent The World of Rotary and clearly demonstrate the mangnitude and international character of RI. Did you know that there is no other service organization in the world that is present in as many countries and geographical areas as is Rotary? Following the recognition of many RI celebrities, PDG Mike Forney recognized the District Governors, who are currently serving their terms. What an impressive and energetic group! A big Thank You to all of them for their service. No question, under their leadership all clubs in our Districts will have a successful Rotary year. A highlight of a different sort was the entertainment that followed the dinner. Tony Pace fascinated us with his impressive voice, musicianship and quick comedic wit. Overflowing with energy he brought to life the #1 songs of the past decades that everyone in the audience seemed to remember so well. Thank you, Tony, for having entertained us tonight!
Friday, Sept 18, 2015 - Page 2 Governor-Elect Training Roars to Life EdJackson / DGE D5610 After hearing comments from International Vice President Greg Podd, facilitators Mary McCambridge and Charlie Tegarden greeted District Governor-Elects and 18 partner/ spouses from 23 Rotary Districts at 8:30 a.m. Training began almost immediately. The two trainers gave a general welcome and overview of objectives and expectations, and then went right into the agenda. Topics for the day included effective communication, insights from RIVP Greg Podd, public speaking, planning and team building, The Rotary Foundation, preparation for the International Assembly, and membership development. One of the highlights of the morning was a precedentbreaking presentation on public speaking by Bob Greenstreet, thought to be the first DGE to lead a Zone GETS session for his fellow DGEs. A retired professor of communication studies, Greenstreet shared Five B s of effective speaking and suggested his fellow DGEs consider using his mantra: I love my audience and they love me. During his comments, Greg Podd told the DGEs of his opportunity to serve as a President s Representative to a District Conference in Taiwan. He said 5,200 District Rotarians, 97% of the members in that District, attended the conference. The conference has a $3 million budget and Podd said he and wife Pam were treated as royalty. Podd also stressed the need to address membership. He said the issue scares me to death. He said one of the keys is President-Elect Training sessions how you train your presidents. You have to take it to them. Later in the day Regional Membership Coordinators David Norris and Dick Jones, with assistance from RI Regional Membership Officer Julie Aubrey, encouraged Rotary leaders to use Membership Cadre resources to bring the issue directly to clubs. It was suggested events be planned for four to six clubs, and to invited clubs nearby, even if they are in different Districts Norris said, We don t have a membership problem, we have a leadership problem. He said research shows members must first buy into the leader, then the vision. He urged the DGEs to stop the leaking bucket with retention measures and to get resources to the club level.
ONE ROTARY AND OUR OPPORTUNITIES GeneDavenport / PDG Director Greg Podd, Thursday, introduced this important big picture session on Membership, Foundation Support, and Public image with some critical questions for participant consideration. He used the graphic of a three legged stool to display the coordination that should naturally exist among these three facets of Rotary. Rotarians are challenged to thing about these questions: Where is Rotary going? Is Rotary relevant in North America? Are we a service organization with members or a membership organization doing service? The essence of his introductory remarks echo the words of our founder, Paul Harris, who once said, The world is a changing place, and we must be prepared to change with it. Rotary is organized to support and strengthen local Rotary Clubs, Greg said, as he emphasized the importance of energizing local club leadership to address the issues imbedded in membership, foundation support, and public image. He then yielded the microphone for detailed remarks from Zone Leadership Coordinators: Membership... Dick Jone--27...David Norris 21b Foundation... Larry Dennis 27...Suzie Howe 21b Public Image... Mike Forney 2...Lisa Herring 21b The message that came across loud and clear from these six Rotary professionals was that they are here to help. So, the challenge is offered for District leaders to use these resources to make a difference. Leaders who lead are invited to step up and make a difference. If we all do this together and with heart perhaps some negative trends in North America Rotary will be reversed. Friday, Sept 18, 2015 - Page 3
Friday, Sept 18, 2015 - Page 4 Be a Rotary Champion Clubs can help build Rotary s corporate brand RhondaHerrington RPIC Representatives Mike Forney and Lisa Herring presented the new Rotary International Public Image Initiatives to the District Governor Elects and Nominees Wednesday afternoon. The biggest question is why is Rotary not growing? With this new public image initiative Rotarians can strengthen what Rotary is all about. Research shows that Rotary needs to have a strong corporate symbol like Apple, Coca Cola and BMW. Rotary is #49 in visibility to our community in knowing what is Rotary. Let s spread the voice of Rotary by telling who we are and what we say and do it in a relevant and consistent message. It will take Rotary s authentic voice to reach Rotary s full potential. Rotarians can go to the RI brand center (www.rotary.org/brand center) for help in creating your club/district logo to help raise awareness of Rotary, understand what Rotary means, and what Rotary does in it s community. To do this you can: adopt RI s new voice and visual ideas, tell compelling stories and consistent messages, update club website and Facebook page regularly and plan a budget for this initiative. Let s raise awareness of Rotary and what Rotary does in its community. Be a Rotary Champion.
Plan to celebrate TRF s 100th Anniversary DorisLockey / PDG D5910 Rotary Trustee Chair of The Rotary Foundation, Ray Klinginsmith was the Thursday lunch keynote speaker. The Rotary Foundation (TRF) will turn 100 years old in 2017. Ray asked all in attendance to look forward and start now planning for the anniversary. He hopes we will plan events which will raise money, publicize TRF and also serve as an opportunity for Rotarians to learn more about TRF. Ray gave a brief history of TRF from its early days of Ambassadorial Scholarships to the programs we know today. Changes through the years have met the needs of TRF contributors and have been responsive to the clubs and districts. This year there will be a full and fair evaluation of the Global Grants program. Ray closed by saying, Rotary is a membership organization that does service. Rotary can do things no other organization can do and is meeting the needs of the world. Ray asked the crowd if we are our brother s keeper. He stated we have all the assets to do good work in the world through TRF. Rotary is doing good in the world and no one does it better than Rotary. Friday, Sept 18, 2015 - Page 5
Friday, Sept 18, 2015 - Page 6 It IS a great class Class of 2017-18 says We re Ready! GeorgeSmall / DGN 5470 (Colorado) It s real and we re ready to take on the responsibilities of DG in 2017-18 after the rigorous training sessions with Kelly Adkinson and Rhonda Kennedy. The 20 classmates in attendance will surely return to their districts with a new sense of enthusiasm. We have the talent and ingenuity to be creative. For the most part, we arrived as strangers, but will leave as friends. Looking around the room, we saw our next best friends. What an amazing group of speakers and outstanding people. With such a tremendous job at hand, our spouses have the opportunity to provide valuable support, but were reminded that Caesar is God. The ideal circumstance is to plan for a term of 3-5 years to provide continuity to district activities and include the District Governor, District Governor Elect and District Governor Nominee. None-the-less we are reminded to get started on our goals. With a planning guide of 191 pages, it s time to take a deep breath and get to work. Day One ended on page 70. With all of the information that was provided, there was time for several Rotary Moments. Sharing tissues, it s impossible to forget Freddie and Ruth, the Hotel Window, Big Gus, Sally, Chess Game and Seventh Hole. It was noticed that there was a crescendo on Day Two with topics as the role in PETS, GETS and International Assembly. I m sorry about the Rotary Alphabet Soup, but that is a necessity. Many of us felt our heart rate increase and got the start of a panic attack. Take a deep breath; it s T-minus two years, but get out your running shoes. This was like the song, I ve Been Everywhere... PETS, Training, District Conference, The Rotary Foundation, Finance, Litigation/Youth Protection. Whew, I ve Been Everywhere. It was a pleasure to here about the Rotary Foundation from Rotary Foundation Trustee Chair Ray Klingingsmith. As I close, I am reminded that this is our opportunity to motivate the Presidents of each District in the ways of Rotary, as the only officer of Rotary International in the District. Let s meet again in Salt Lake City next year. Finally a sincere thank you to Rhonda and Kelly for their enthusiasm, support and leadership as our facilitators.
Friday, Sept 18, 2015 - Page 7 PDG training session hears from RI global leadership DavidJohnson / DG 2013-14 D5910 Twenty-four PDGS plus spouses attended the Thursday PDG forum. The first session primarily had suggestions for membership. The primary objective is to attract the professional and to engage them. There is a need to think out of the box attendance is less important than engagement. Social media can be a strong recruitment and retention tool. Reasonable goal setting is critical. The PDGs in attendance were informed and challenged by the presentations. Membership success stories were shared. There is a need for flexibility satellite clubs with reduced attendance requirements; evening clubs that can reach young professionals who can t make lunch meetings, and offer a much lower cost structure. PRIP Ray Klinginsmith discussed the Fellowship of Rotarians to help keep PDGs involved and connecting Rotary leaders. He gave an update on where we are in Global Grants. Once again he asked us to use Cowboy Logic. RIPE John Germ talked about redistricting and the negative consequences to the United States. We may well lose one zone in the next redistricting. Polio is a success story, and the use of a patch instead of a shot may allow Rotarians to continue the National Immunization Days. He charged us to reach out to additional partners. We don t do enough to help people see the value of Rotary. RIVP Greg Podd touched on the complexity of the RI board, and the difficulty of enacting some ideas that would be beneficial to the United States, but will probably be opposed by India and Japan. Salt Lake City will have the Rotaract Zone Institute next year, as we strive to get more young people involved. We have to create a model to attract young people, and make sure that Rotarians are proud to be Rotarians.
Friday, Sept 18, 2015 - Page 8 Inaugural 2015 Go-Cart Demo Derby The District Governor s of Zone 21b-27 Convened Wednesday, September 16 for the serious occasion of the inaugural DG GoCart Grand Prix. DG Ken Howell of D5400 drove to first place in the sixteen lap Grand Prix final. The race was conducted under the rules of no aggressive driving. Today the DG s were more serious as Club and District Support Officer Jim Damato provided guidance on the do s and don ts of reporting expenses to Rotary International. All the DG s gave Jim proper respect as Jim will review the expense reports before any reimbursements are approved to the districts. Rotary International Director Jennifer Jones lightened the moments of the day with great ideas on using short stories and highlights to make points during public speaking (i.e., don t bore the clubs). The quote of the day was from a woman watching a Rotary water well project under construction:..when the wells were built, the children stopped dying. The afternoon session on membership was lively with Rotary Coordinator Dave Norris volunteering to put his membership Cadre on the road to visit districts and clubs. Rotary International Vice President Greg Podd engaged with the District Governors. The DGs let Greg win the discussions and leave with his shirt on his back. RRFC Larry Dimmitt and RRFC Suzi Howe followed RIVP Greg with useful ideas on organizing and sustaining the Rotary Foundation fund raising and management of grants. The rap up was conducted by facilitators PDG Michelle Schaefer and PDG Kevin Tubbesing.
Fellowship always a key ingredient StevenLong District Trainers had dinner and hospitality on Thursday and discovered that they were a very diverse group. Don t ask about football or burros. The first training event was focused on the need for Fellowship in Rotary. Dean Jackson from Utah led this discussion. Diane Knight led the group to think about actual training at District Assembly. Trainers are often tasked to plan but the idea is to let the Trainer train. The group had an interesting discussion of new ideas including bringing speakers to Assembly that are not Rotarian and use the opportunity to influence them. Paulette Church, from Durango, brought the discussion back to fellowship as a way of growing relationships in Rotary. Influence grows as relationship grows, Church said. After lunch, the group was again treated to hear from Greg Podd. Rotary s biggest challenge, Podd said, Is to get education down to the clubs. The trainers got a bid dose of fun when PDG Michael Wells, RI District 5420, related his planning and execution of his district conference combined with a massive list service projects that brought over 700 Utah Rotarians to Mexico for a week. Trainers agreed that this institute was well worth the trip. Friday, Sept 18, 2015 - Page 9
New RI Director Jennifer Jones speaks on branding RI Director Jennifer Jones is passionate! She is passionate about the clear, consistent brand for Rotary and what it does around the world. As she said at Rotary International Assembly, Can you imagine if every McDonald s or Starbucks in the world looked or sounded different? They are strong because they have a simple and clear brand; we know exactly what we will get when we do business with them. So it should be with Rotary, Jennifer Jones shared with the District Public Image Coordinators at their morning session. Following her presentation, attendees learned about updating club and district logos for all the websites, social and print media, and PowerPoint presentations about Strengthening Rotary which can be found on Rotary Brand Center. A local media panel explained how stories are successfully pitched. The secret? Rotary Clubs are successful when they learn how to localize their stories with a good hook. The Public Image Coordinators afternoon was filled with practical exercises in which teams developed PR plans around a crisis situation, a community project, or a fundraiser. Then RPIC s Mike Forney and Lisa Herring encouraged the group to review the successful public image initiatives in their binders. The final exercise had attendees explain why each had joined Rotary and, more importantly, why each has stayed. Through this exercise, everyone began to understand the power of individual stories on creating a better appreciation of Rotary in our communities and our world. Friday, Sept 18, 2015 - Page 10