(Submitted by: Rotary District 5580 Governor-Elect, Bob McLean)
Hello Fellow Rotarians of District 5580...
As many of you have already read, this Wednesday evening (03.18.20), the anticipated announcement came from RI President Mark that this year's International Convention is cancelled. Combined with the cancellation of our own District 5580 Conference, it is certainly a sign of "novel" times.
In a recent op-ed in the New York Times, Minnesota native Tom Friedman, a Pulitzer Prize winning author, noted we are living in a new time line in the world; no long the old B.C. & A.D., it is now B.C. and A.C. (Before Covid-19 and After Covid-19). The immediate challenge is that we are living between the Before and the After. We need to make the very best of the opportunities we have NOW in order to come through this historical challenge; better than ever.
On our part, embracing RI President-Elect Holger Knaack’s theme “Rotary Opens Opportunities” there is much we as Rotarians can do with and for each other to make the most of the circumstances we are living in.
With the cancellation of District Conference, so went Plan A for District President Elect Training Seminar (PETS). We will be working with our Assistant District Governors to create a dynamic new PETS series using available webinar platforms that all Presidents- Elect can participate in. More detail to follow.
Also, with GoToMeeting, Skype, Zoom, Facebook Live, and so many other platforms, now is an excellent opportunity for all of us to become more familiar with these meeting tools (INCLUDING ME!) and make that part of our new norm. Though we are to practice social distancing, it is equally important to keep connected with important relationships!
Borrowing from Essentia Health’s “Spirit of Caring”. Picture a circle with the revolving theme “Care for our community” “Care for each other” “Care for ourself”. Now is the time to embrace that Spirit of Caring within ourselves, our clubs, and our community. A noted expert in community mental health in crisis… suggests the “3 Rs” to be mindful of:
Rest – Routine (daily rituals, habits) – Relationships (family, work, fellow Rotarians, community).
Together let’s explore how we can help each other practice the 3Rs, to be supportive of one another and our communities during a very turbulent time. This too will pass, it won’t be easy, but it will be “do-able” by coming together in service above self. That is what we do best!
Be well. Be kind to each other AND to yourself. And DO SHARE what you and your clubs are doing to make this an opportunity for the good of all concerned.
Yours in Rotary,
Bob