District 7070 Rotaract Representative Carolina Rodriguez assembled the 10 Rotaract Club Presidents, their sponsoring Rotary Clubs and District Committee personnel to a full day of training and informative discussions, helping the Rotaract Presidents, get ready for their year of service. The meeting was held at UOIT in Oshawa on August 18, 2018. Read more to see some of the highlights........
The Rotaract Presidents' Training session, organized by Carolina Rodriguez, our District 7070 Rotaract Representative and District Governor Nominee , (who is also Chair of the District 7070 Rotaract Committee), resulted in two way communication and an even stronger partnership between Rotary and Rotary, which is essential to the well being and growth of both groups.
After the meeting, Carolina assembled and distributed copies of powerpoints, and presentations and resource materials for the Rotaract Presidents and sent them to both the Rotaract Club Presidents and to the Rotary Clubs in the District. Information included: Rotaract President's Handbook, the District Rotaract Leaders Handbook, how to get the Rotary Citation for Rotaract Clubs, how to add club members through Clubrunner, the presentation on Public Image and Public Relations for Rotaractors, promo material for the District Conference and also the Zone Conference in Montreal.
Through a speed version of "Meet and Greet" all Rotaractors and all Rotarians met for a very short few minutes, each meeting, one on one (Rotaractor and Rotarian), and talked about themselves, their club and their expectations how the two can develop a stronger relationship between Rotaract and Rotary. We all learned a great dealin a very short time.
Prior to the meeting, DGN Mark Chipman, our District Rotaract Chair, had sent an email to the sponsoring Rotary Club Presidents , urging them put together a plan to support and strengthen our sponsoring Rotaract Club with the goal to build a stronger relationship and ensure a stronger Rotaract Club.
Mark gave the Rotary Club Presidents some ideas to consider and many of them were reviewed at the Rotaract Presidents meeting:
- Inviting Rotaractors to your ongoing meetings
- Holding coffee chats and mentoring sessions with the Rotaractors
- Engaging them on sweat equity projects or fundraisers as an equal and active partner
- Holding training sessions where they teach you some things (i.e. social media, mobile apps/communication tools). Believe me, I am always learning new things from the younger members of my team at work!
- Adding them to your mailing lists and including them on your newsletter or social media sites
- Holding induction ceremonies for new members (as we do for Rotarians!), recognizing/awarding achievements and considering team building events
- Considering the Rotaractors for a position on your Board or your various committees
- Encouraging them to attend District events. Two events of note:
- Rotary Foundation Walk in Kleinberg at The McMichael Canadian Collection on Sunday, September 30
- Rotary Reunion - Rotary 7070 District Conference in Wellington, Prince Edward County - Saturday, October 27 - $50 for the whole day for Rotaractors, including 3 meals!
- Discussing with them what are their expectations of your Rotary club and what they would like to get out of (and give to) this relationship.
Dave Andrews, Chair of the District 7070 Public Image talked about Rotary and Rotaract Public Image being the responsible of every member of their club. He talked about how important having a positive public image is to their club and also about the tools and resources available to the Rotaractors. He also announced that starting this month, the District newsletter would have a special section devoted to Rotaract and the Rotaract Clubs in the District and encouraged the Club Presidents to send to him stories about their clubs to further strengthen the bond between Rotaractors and Rotarians.
District Governor Elect Beth Selby also added input to discussions about Rotary and how Rotarians and Rotaractors can work together on so many avenues and projects.