Last weeks program was provided by Rotarian James Surrency. James’ guest speaker was Wayne with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches. In 1957, a small group of Florida sheriffs saw the need for a residential care facility for troubled boys. With a little bit of cash and a big dream, they pooled their wisdom and efforts and watched their dream become a reality. Within a short period of time, they were helping many young boys turn their lives around to become productive and responsible adults. The vision of the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch is to develop young men and women who, because of the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches, are able to face the future with a sense of direction, ability and hope. The mission of the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches is to prevent delinquency and develop lawful, resilient and productive citizens. The organization believes in Children First, Integrity – Doing the right thing for the right reasons at the right time. Quality – Doing nothing less than our best, every day in every way. Stewardship – Taking responsibility for the assets that have been provided for the benefit of the children through the gifts and sacrifices of others. Character – Building successful youth and staff through the development of positive character traits. Since 1957, programs have provided children with a nurturing family structure through cottage homes, including a full-time house mom and dad, who work with each child to develop a strong work ethic, respect and a sense of responsibility. In addition to family-style living, a clearly defined model of care, making sure the children in the programs are given the same opportunities to attend school and participate in extracurricular activities as their peers. Ninety percent of the youth in the program graduate from high school. By utilizing a network of residential campuses throughout Florida, the Youth Ranches trained and devoted staff are well-equipped to nurture needy, neglected boys and girls and provide a warm sense of security, guidance and tenderness. The cornerstone and pride of the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches is its nationally renown network of residential child-care campuses, an array of cottages and villas scattered throughout the state of Florida offering a stable home to needy children. By utilizing the Boys Ranch/Live Oak, Youth Villa/Bartow, Youth Ranch/Safety Harbor and Youth Ranch-Bradenton/Sarasota, the Youth Ranches trained and devoted staff are well-equipped to nurture needy, neglected boys and girls, and provide a warm sense of security, guidance and tenderness. Youth are cared for by "cottage parents," who help develop a strong work ethic, sense of responsibility, teamwork and respect in each boy and girl. Some of the requirements for kids include; Legal guardian and youth must be legal residents of the state of Florida, must be between 8 and 18 years of age, must have no other appropriate living arrangements, must be of average or above average intelligence, must not pose a threat to self or others, must not be a serious, habitual offender, must be able to physically participate in program activities, agrees to participate in religious activities, must perform in public school setting or another alternative educational program, must not have alcohol or drug dependency, must be willing to work on personal problems, and the youth must be recommended by the local Sheriff. The Youth Ranch depends on donations and volunteers to operate. If you can help in any way, check out their website: www.youthranches.org provided by Mike Arndt
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Opening Day of Little League - Sat. Feb.23rd 8-11 am cooking hot dogs
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Program Chair
Kayla Drawdy is our Program Chair! Please notify Kayla of you upcoming speakers at 763-1821 or kayla@htitle.com
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NOW THAT I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION
Have any news you would like to share? Do you have a new position at work? Family news? Any news you would like to share with club members and bulletin subscribers? E-mail to Bill Wicker
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While Service Above Self is the principal motto of Rotary International, One Profits Most Who Serves Best is also recognized as an official motto of our organization. During the Great Recession of 2008, I was working part-time at two comparable organizations in Orlando and observed firsthand how each tackled declining profits in two very different ways.
One owner made a very pragmatic decision
that prioritized the needs of the organization, while the other placed equal emphasis upon serving the needs of employees. Now, more than a decade later, one is still struggling, while the other is enjoying record profits.
In 2008, both organizations needed to cut costs by 20 percent in order to remain solvent. One owner instructed his second in command to cut staff until the goal was met. The most experienced employees were the first to go because they drew the highest salaries. It was an efficient solution that resulted in the fewest
number of employees losing their job.
The second owner organized a meeting of all his employees who anticipated the worse. Much to their relief, his first words assured them no one was going to be terminated. Instead, he told each employee, from the recently hired hourly worker to the highest paid executive, they would need to take a 20 percent reduction in salary. They also were told they could take an extra day off each week in the event they needed part time work to make up the difference. In addition, he promised to restore the lost wages when the economy turned around and business resumed at a brisk pace.
The pragmatic approach was appropriate and accomplished the necessary objective. However, the organization lost years of experience by terminating the
most senior workers. Furthermore, the remaining employees had to work twenty percent more to pick up the slack, all the while worrying about the next downsize. Some may have felt a sense of guilt that a colleague was suffering financial hardship, while they continued to do a job they were less qualified to perform.
While not the intent, the decision turned out to be neither fair nor beneficial to all concerned. And It certainly didn’t foster good will. The approach that impacted everyone the same was also appropriate and
accomplished the necessary objective. However, in a subtle way it embodied the Four Way Test. It was fair since everyone was treated equally. It was also
beneficial for both the organization and employees who now had an incentive to get the business on sound footing so they could receive their promised back pay.
That might explain why no one chose to take an extra day off. If anything, they pulled together and worked even harder. When business did eventually pick up,
all the previous experience was intact. There was no question the person who cut expenses while serving his employees as best he could, did indeed profit most.
Not only are Harris Rosen’s properties in Orlando enjoying record profits, but starting in 2020, the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel will host District Governors Elect from around the world along with an entourage of staff and trainers during the annual, Rotary International
Assembly. It’s a very lucrative contract. The other owner in the same city is in the midst of a second round of downsizing.
Yes, it is true, One Profits Most Who Serves Best!
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