Last week, we didn’t have a quorum to elect Susy’s board for her term as president. I know it’s a busy time and many thanks to the 22 people who made it. We’re going to reschedule the meeting for January so that Susy can have an official board, and we can fill out the proper paperwork for Rotary International.
And during that time, we need to find a president to follow Susy. That task, according to bylaws, is supposed to be promoted through the Past President’s Committee, which has been traditionally chaired by Annette. Annette, as you all know, is super busy with life right now and doesn’t have time to do this. We thank her and Joe for all their past service on that committee.
This means we need a past president to lead that committee. It cannot be (according to our club’s organizational documents) anyone currently on the board. So, we’re relying on you all to step up, to tell us if you’d like to be president or convince someone else to be president.
Let me tell you a big Rotary secret: Being president isn’t hard. The hardest part is finding time to go to the meetings and running the board meeting.
Here’s another secret: Rotary is the easiest board meeting to run ever. Are you on a hospital board? The board of a nonprofit where all the board members secretly hate each other? Places where financial ruin lurks every month? Rotary is nothing like that. This is mellow and good and almost always calm.
And one more secret: Even if you are president, you don’t have to be there every single Wednesday meeting. You’re allowed to have a life. I know! I know! Shocking! I’ve missed a few meetings because of work travel and Rotary Zone duties, and Steve and Susy have both stepped up and filled in effortlessly. People will do the same for you.
That’s because we’re a team.
According to Professor Ramya Ranganathan, “We are all social beings. We live by interacting with each other. We need each other for transactional purposes, for belongingness, for identity, for affiliation and so many more undeclared needs. When we are part of a group, by choice or force, we begin to influence people around us and in turn, we get influenced by those around us.”
That’s really true about Rotary.
There is safety in blending in, but when we move outside the herd, the pack, that’s when we can both reach our own successes, but bring others to success with us. Think about our past presidents right before me. Steve and Shaun often went up to that podium or approached their newsletters with a raw honesty that endeared rather than alienated or caused them to be derided. Their approach created an inviting atmosphere where people could authentically be themselves. Both men stood out by being president, but also with their devotion to getting certain very public projects accomplished – the Park Street Playground and the Bar Harbor Kids Book Festival. And neither of them look back on their time as president as a bad experience.
You can do that, too. And if you were a past president? You can do that again.
A few weeks ago, I sent out a list of presidential duties to all club members to help people get a better understanding. One club member sent back his revised list and ideas for delegation. His list wasn’t accurate because that list I sent is the way this club works currently, but it showed me that false perceptions of the president’s role in this club still persist and how the president’s role can be even easier. It’s not hard. It’s lovely. It’s already easy. And everyone is there to help you.
A quick reminder that there is no December 26th meeting or board meeting tonight (Monday).
At our last meeting, we received thanks from Safe Passage in Guatemala where we’ve been supporting Alan for years. He’s now a young man and wishes us all a happy holiday. We received thanks from the Bar Harbor Food Pantry, Criterion Theatre, as well as from the Anti-Cruelty Society in Chicago where dynamo Judy Holmes sent the animal blankets she made on behalf of the club. Thank you again, Judy!
