District Governor: Candidly

Much of this weight comes from the surprising way the District is organized.  There is no Board of Directors, no hierarchy or team to share responsibility for policy decisions.  On any and all matters, there is only one vote, and that is the Governor’s, although he does seek the counsel of other Past and future Governors and others.

And that is even more interesting, because of the great involvement of a number of people in nominating the governors-to-be.  A nominating committee made up of 7 past District Governors plus the representatives of 6 clubs in the district, meet to select the name of the nominee.

 When Doug’s name was submitted his first time around, in his first term of office, it was the president of a club who nominated him - but not his home club president.  It was the president of the Redondo Beach club.

The selected person then goes to GNATSS, a week-long Governor-To be Training Session followed the next year by a week at GETS, concluding the third year with a week at the International Assembly.  This is three years of training before the year as Governor.  Then, there is a fourth year of service, as Immediate Past Governor Elect.

Among other powers of the DG are that he/she may approve or veto any club’s presidential nominee, if that person has less than a year’s service with that club, and has had no PETS (President-Elect Training Session).  This question has arisen before.

Taking us along with him on the first three weeks of this term as governor, Doug listed several of the crucial examples that were up to him alone to decide.  Recently there have been complaints of sexual harassment: inappropriate touching, inappropriate suggestion.  How much of this was simply misunderstanding of cultural differences?  The District Governor alone had to sort through and take appropriate actions.

On an entirely different front, 19 of the 64 clubs in our district just had their 501 tax-exempt status revoked, because they had not filed a tax return for over three years.  Because of this, they are ineligible to receive Rotary International seed and grant money.  Beginning July 1, grants are now supervised at the District, not the Chicago Rotary Headquarters level.

The disgruntled editor of the newsletter of a club in the San Fernando Valley complained that religion and politics and Rotary don’t mix.  The Governor must try to investigate, mediate and bring the club into compliance with their Rotary charter and objectives.

Moving along to the second week of his Governorship, Doug was informed that three clubs in the district had discovered that their treasurers had embezzled their funds, to the tune of a total of $214,000.  The Governor’s option: should the District bail them out?  Decision: two of the clubs are functioning clubs, the third is not. Since his presentation another club has discovered financial wrong-doing on the part of their treasurer!

We all know that Doug accepted the job of being District Governor for the second time around, only because of the unexpected demise of the Governor –Elect.

But stepping into the job late meant that all the usual carefully laid personal framework was impossible for him.

Normally, the process of becoming governor begins three years in advance,  upon becoming the nominee for that job.  The governor-to-be then begins to build his team.  But Doug took on the job so late, that he had to work with 45 members inherited from the demised man’s team.  He was only able to bring 2 of his own people.  It is taking a while to get up to speed.

Another hardship of being governor is the costs of the office.  Normally, the governor’s home club raises money for him, and when Doug was duly elected two years ago, he used only $1,500 of that money. Rotary International allotted him $9,782.  Being DG cost roughly $25,000.  You do the math.

 Normally, when a study team comes to this district, the DG’s home club puts on the arrival party.  In the last minute event of Downey having to take on that job,  it was the Santa Monica Club that had already planned the event.

When evaluating a club, the Governor not only looks at the total membership, but at the number of members who are active.  One of the largest of clubs has little more than 10% of its members present at the weekly meetings.

 One of the smallest clubs, on the other hand, has only 15 members, but those members all participate in meetings and work together outside meetings on club projects.

  Some clubs used to be “young”, but have forgotten the job of being Rotarians.  They have lost their legacy.

  Doug was not talking about our club in Downey, but he feels that in many instances, membership is down because many clubs have adulterated their standards, just to make up the numbers that Rotary international asks for.    Being asked to be a member of Rotary used to be a life-changing experience and being a Rotarian was a matter of community pride. But now, Doug opined, being asked is not the honor it once was.  As Groucho Marx was supposed to have said, “I don’t want to belong to any club that would have me as a member.”  This reporter respectfully begs to differ: it still is special to be asked to be a Downey Rotarian.

   Doug offered positive suggestions for enlivening a club: change the mentality, “we’ve always done it that way.”  Let’s try different things, he says, have different demographics.  Avoid cliques: sit at different tables with different people.

 Some clubs have simply dwindled and shut down.  There used to be a Huntington Park Club, one hundred members strong.  It doesn’t exist anymore, neither does the Compton club.

Another thing that is choking some clubs, Doug says, is that their accounts receivable are sky high.  That is, members aren’t paying their dues, yet they are being carried on the rolls.  Get rid of the bad debts by getting rid of the members, if they refuse to pay.

  Doug gave us a candid look at the down-to-earth  and moral grind he faces in this job.  Having had the chance to vent about this with us, his home club, let’s hope Doug now can carry his high standards and find ways to work them into the framework of the District.  We’re proud he’s our Gov.