Vacation + Fun & Fellowship = Makeup Meetings!
Posted by Grace Fika
Attending Rotary meetings in other communities while on vacation is rewarding, fun and educational. Before leaving on your next vacation, go to the Rotary International website and check out the meetings being held in the area - print off a list of locations and times and make a point of stopping in!
Recently, while on vacation to the Yukon and Alaska, I had the opportunity to attend two Rotary meetings - Anchorage South and Whitehorse Sunrise. It was not only fun meeting Rotarians from another club, district and country - it was also very interesting to get a brief glimpse into how other clubs operate.
The first meeting I attended was in Anchorage South (noon). The lunch time meeting of over 100 members was abuzz with laughter, conversation and music - (they have a club member who plays lively piano music throughout the meeting!). During the one hour meeting there was a presentation on a health matter by a guest speaker, they enrolled a new member, introduced Ms. Alaska and their scholarship recipient (who both gave short speeches), talked about their upcoming projects as well as all the other regular club business. Time went by in a flash. Before we knew it the meeting was over and, along with a great meeting and a wonderful meal, we had found out what were the best sites to see in Anchorage and area.
The sunrise meeting in Whitehorse was more laid back and equally as welcoming. The much smaller group of around 20 members welcomed me to their breakfast meeting with open arms! It was interesting to see slides of their walking trail project and enjoy the presentation of their exchange student who had just returned from a year in Turkey. I had the opportunity to speak with the past district governor (their district encompasses the Yukon, Alaska and some of Russia) and sample some Turkish delite from Turkey. Talk about international! The meeting was an excellent start to the morning and really helped me see how broad the world of Rotary really is.
If you are interested in attending a meeting elsewhere, and don't know how to find the meeting location etc., just go to www.rotary.org and on the top right hand side of the page click on "club locator". You will be taken to a page which will allow you to search by city, club name, country or district. You can print out the information and do as I did, take it on vacation so that when I was in a community that was having a meeting that day, I could plan on attending! And don't forget to pick up a makeup meeting sheet for when you come home...
The first meeting I attended was in Anchorage South (noon). The lunch time meeting of over 100 members was abuzz with laughter, conversation and music - (they have a club member who plays lively piano music throughout the meeting!). During the one hour meeting there was a presentation on a health matter by a guest speaker, they enrolled a new member, introduced Ms. Alaska and their scholarship recipient (who both gave short speeches), talked about their upcoming projects as well as all the other regular club business. Time went by in a flash. Before we knew it the meeting was over and, along with a great meeting and a wonderful meal, we had found out what were the best sites to see in Anchorage and area.
The sunrise meeting in Whitehorse was more laid back and equally as welcoming. The much smaller group of around 20 members welcomed me to their breakfast meeting with open arms! It was interesting to see slides of their walking trail project and enjoy the presentation of their exchange student who had just returned from a year in Turkey. I had the opportunity to speak with the past district governor (their district encompasses the Yukon, Alaska and some of Russia) and sample some Turkish delite from Turkey. Talk about international! The meeting was an excellent start to the morning and really helped me see how broad the world of Rotary really is.
If you are interested in attending a meeting elsewhere, and don't know how to find the meeting location etc., just go to www.rotary.org and on the top right hand side of the page click on "club locator". You will be taken to a page which will allow you to search by city, club name, country or district. You can print out the information and do as I did, take it on vacation so that when I was in a community that was having a meeting that day, I could plan on attending! And don't forget to pick up a makeup meeting sheet for when you come home...