Welcome from our President!

I am so honored to be the president of such a well-established, influential, and successful club. My time in Rotary has given me so much, I feel lucky to be able to give backMany people I talk to don’t really know what Rotary is, or why I choose to spend so much time and energy engaged with Rotary. In fact, there may be guests here today that don’t really know what Rotary is. Some say we are a service club. Some say we are a group of business people who meet for lunch and some say we raise money for several causes.

I think of Rotary as a leadership accelerator. A place where successful leaders join other successful leaders to maximize the good we can do in our community. A place where you can grow, both personally and professionally. A way to become a part of a global initiative to increase peace, goodwill and impact around the world.

I particularly found this to be true attending the Rotary International convention in Korea in May. We were 50,000 Rotarians from all around the world – Russia, Japan, Canada, Africa, and Australia. We were all there with the same goals. In a time where there’s so much to worry about, you see it every time you turn on the news or read your twitter feed, it is rewarding to be a part of something so GOOD.

One of my goals for the coming year is for our club to evaluate many of our practices, in a way – question everything – and explore new ways and possibilities to strengthen our club. I admire and respect our past club leaders and how they engrained the values of service and integrity here. I am not afraid to make more changes to prepare us for the best possible future. I want to be sure that we are adapting enough to improve Overland Park, for another 55 years.

I’d like to share what your board of directors would like to accomplish together this year.