A Vision Of Magic
A Vision of Magic
Rotary District Governor Dean Rohrs outlined her vision and issued challenges at the Rotary Club of Tsawwassen meeting, Aug. 30/07
After acknowledging the presence of former District Governor Kevin Conway, Dean said it was intimidating to speak before such an effective predecessor. She then proceeded to set the bar high by outlining a clear vision and challenges faced by Rotary.
She began by outlining who we are:
"...an organization of men/women...who accept the moral principle of service to humanity as...essential to human happiness.and practice [of] that...principle...will lead to world peace and universal human happiness".
To be part of it Rotarians accept that we don't get paid, in fact we pay to work here, we only have to attend half the time and only 30% of that has to be here, there is no requirement that you actually work, management changes completely every year and there is no retirement age, skills or experience needed to be appointed to a position or no requirement to attend training programs
We do require idealism and now after 100 years of successfully applying a tried and true formula we require change because:
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membership has declined and we are aging
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participation lags beyond the Club level
She congratulated our Club for enrolling in the Club Leadership Plan - a new Management structure for developing and sustaining an Effective Rotary Club. But she challenged us to get more participation beyond our Club. Dreams and goals can not be realized in isolation; we must think of our Club as the beginning of the team which must be joined to a world of team members waiting to be involved.
She challenged us to attract and keep new members by being sensitive to their needs, attitudes and suggestions. If we want a future we have to make Rotary fit them. She asked us to consider revamping our Rotary meeting - perhaps getting new members or youth to run or structure a meeting so it reflects what they think and becomes the best hour in their week.
She advocated all members participate at the District level and beyond. To assist our District now offers The Rotary Leadership Institute, a formal training program
providing Rotary knowledge and leadership skills
for individual Rotarians
. Districts making this training a prerequisite to leadership positions show unprecedented membership growth and participation.
Rotarians attending exciting and interesting district and regional events share ideas, create bonds, and learn from others. This year the District Conference being held in
She then turned to our annual theme, Rotary Shares, to emphasize the need for more work in:
Literature - Health and Hunger - Clean water - The Rotary family.
For many people the daily reality of dirty water creates a frightening and ugly world. We can change this. She asks us to sponsor a Rotaractor, Interactor or Rylarian to attend the first "Rotary Peace Summit" in
The young hearts and bodies are both the strength and the Future of Rotary. They are idealists with no parameters - who do not know the word - impossible. Send them, involve them, show them, give them the support and they will change the world.
Finally she turned to paying the bills. Dean is very proud that District 5040 contributions increased by 23% to $127 per Rotarian. She called it, ".a contribution that does amazing things!"
She asked every Rotarian to get involved in the part that makes dreams come true -- the magic of The Foundation Programs.
To register for The Rotary Leadership Institute or District Conference: register online at - http://www.rotary5040.org/.