President Liz encourages us to take this year's Rotary theme "Unite for Good" and put it into practice.
“Unite for Good” is a wonderful rallying cry and a great Rotary theme for this year, and I want us to take it from slogan to practice. Our Rotary club is a group of volunteers of different experiences, skills, work styles, and interests. The most important word in that sentence is volunteers. We’re going to need more than a corporate “Teamwork!” poster in the breakroom.
Here are 3 practices I’m adopting this year, and I invite you to try them out, too.
1. Find common goals: Don’t assume or assert goals. Be curious. Ask the people you’re working with–whether on a committee, an event, or even a happy hour order–what sort of outcome they want. Then make decisions about how to get to that outcome.
2. Assume good intent: In my experience, Rotarians are nice, hard working, wise, and generous people with integrity. If you find yourself thinking someone is not one of these things based on something they say or do, be curious. Ask yourself: “Why would a nice, hard working, wise, and generous person do or say that?” Assume there’s a good reason, and try to understand where they’re coming from.
3. Work with “friends,” not “members”: I’m honored to have been invited into Rotarians’ homes (and a boat), met spouses and pets, and attended birthday or wedding celebrations. That’s because I’m lucky to have friends in this club. I would love for all of our members to feel this fortunate. Be curious. Start a conversation with someone you don’t know very well. Invite someone to lunch, a walk, or even a Rotary event.
Did you catch the common theme that I snuck in there? Be curious. All three practices include trying to understand each other better. We can learn about, from, and with each other. When we do, I’m excited to see what we can accomplish.
Liz Alves
President, 2025-26