Mistaken Identity
Authors correction: in last week's bulletin, the above photo identified the center person as Rotary International president elect Larry Lunsford. In reality he is past Rotary International President Ravi Ravindran, 2015-2016 from Sri Lanka.
At the recent leadership conference, Eloise and Jack were especially delighted to reunite with Ravi. 2016 was also Eloise and Jack's year as presidents of their respective clubs. Eloise and Sunrise and Jack in Glen Ellen Kenwood Rotary Rotary Unites for Good.
2015-2016 International Theme
Here are Eloise' notes on the Leadership Institute:
In Rotary, it’s easy to become focused on projects at the local level, where we are truly making a difference. This is important work, and it’s also exciting to know that we are part of an international organization that does good in the world, promotes peace through partnerships, and creates leaders to carry on this important work to make lasting change for generations to come.
I returned home to Santa Rosa on September 6 after attending Rotary Zone Institute’s “Camp Big West” in Litchfield Park, Arizona (September 3-5), where I participated in the District Governor Elect (DGE) graduation for my husband Jack (Strange) and his 29 classmates in Zones 26/27. During this three-day marathon, I emersed myself in the energy and excitement of over 500 Rotary leaders coming together to share ideas and inspiration from the local club to international level, as they learned to become better leaders. Leadership requires life-long learning!
Partners like me began to appreciate the power of collaboration and shared purpose, which was contagious. We were also warmly welcomed to participate as much or little as we desired. I couldn’t resist. Current and past District Governors (DGs) were there to mentor and champion the next generations of leaders. Each current DG also invited two “emerging leaders” from their districts to participate in breakout sessions and keynote presentations.
One of my personal highlights from Zone Institute was the first keynote address by Past Rotary International (RI) President Ravi Ravindran (Sri Lanka) on leadership. His leadership was equally impactful when he served as RI President in 2015/16, the same year Jack and I served as Presidents of our respective clubs (Santa Rosa Evening and Santa Rosa Sunrise). The leadership values he and other Rotary International leaders have modeled are what make Rotary so unique as both a service and leadership organization. Below are my key take-aways from Ravi’s description of leadership. These are values I also strive to lead by in my own organization:
Integrity: Doing what’s right when no one is watching. Only your best is good enough.
Humility: Set aside pride to avoid becoming self-righteous.
Compassion: See the person, not the problem. Show up when others need you. Be open like children and embrace all. What adults analyze, children accept.
Courage: Refuse to let fear decide for you. Choose the high road. Stand firm when others want you to compromise your values.
Another highlight for me was the daily presence and closing keynote address by RI President Elect Larry Lunsford (Kansas, US), whose midwestern charm, approachability, and personal vulnerability were palpable. In his keynote, he discussed the powerful impact of Rotary partnerships to eradicate polio, and reinforced RI’s commitment to staying the course. He recounted the personal impact of a recent trip he made to Pakistan and shared a photo of the first child he immunized against polio. He also shared a shoe story in, as one of his personal commitments is to provide new shoes to children. In his honor, over 600 pairs of new shoes were collected during Camp Big West, and will be distributed later this month to children in Tucson schools.
In our world of AI, PE Larry described a GPS analogy for Rotary International: Growing, Partnering, and Serving. Continuity in leadership is mandatory and necessary at the district and club level. This is a chance to start new conversations in our clubs with a 4-year journey in messaging to achieve RI’s goal of 1.25 million members by 2030. It’s time to ask, “Where does your club want to be in 2030”? Achieving this goal will require starting new clubs, not just growing existing clubs. Larry asked Rotary leaders to look at the people in your neighborhood, business, family, and ask, “Why haven’t I brought this person into Rotary yet?” As he pointed out, “Everyone in Rotary leadership has the ability to spread that intentionality across an entire Rotary District.”
I have full confidence in our District Governors, past-present-future, to carry this message to District members, and hope others who are NOT in the DG line will join me in supporting them!
From both breakout sessions and Keynotes, I also returned home to Sonoma County feeling inspired and will actively support efforts to use “AI for good” through Rotary to expand our reach: to make our clubs more attractive to younger members, help start new clubs, more effectively identify needs in our community that Rotary can address and find new ways to keep the FUN in fundraising.
From District 5130, District Governor Nominee (DGN) Ann Gospe attended for her first year of immersion with her classmates. Jack completed his second year of preparation as Governor Elect (DGE), which further bonded him with his 29 classmates from Zones 26/27 (western US and part of Canada). Past District Governor Kristine Redko and District Governor Jeff Kolin, along with their own classmates, were there to support the new DG leaders, deepen their own learning, and ensure continuity of leadership. Michael Juric, a zone trainer for years, and David Mark-Raymond, District Foundation Chair, also attended. Two “emerging leaders” were also selected by each DG to attend the Institute. Julie Montgomery (Santa Rosa East-West) and Annalise von Vorstel (Eureka) were selected from District 5130.
Yours in Rotary,
Eloise Tweeten, Past President 2015/16
Rotary Club of Santa Rosa Sunrise
