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Hi,
I wanted to write about the New England President Elect Training Seminar that I attended last week. So everybody, mostly past presidents, told me “good luck”, “don’t drink the cool aid” , etc. It was all said in good fun. Now that I am back- I am really glad I was asked to serve.
So, I had a really good time, participated in a half dozen workshops and hit a few hospitality suites at night. I spent some time with the Lepauloue brothers, Dave and Bob, president elects of the Saco Bay Club and the Sunset Club in OOB at Dunegrass. These guys are great, super funny and fully engaged with the idea of Rotary. I hope we do something with their clubs this year.
Did you know that we, the Biddeford Saco Rotary Club is one of the most “kick ass” clubs in New England. It was almost embarrassing to be so front and center. We were mentioned regularly whether it was Paul D and Roland G’s work on the Lac-Megantic rail disaster, the Red Ribbon Committee’s work, etc. I also got a lot of validation about our club vis a vis our succession planning, foundation giving, the amount we give back to our community, our outreach, our international projects, etc.
While there were some themes that were introduced at NEPETS, I did not necessarily agree with them. For example there was a lot of emphasis in getting millennials involved while myself and a number of fellow Rotarians think we should just get people involved and not infer a separation of folks, i.e., millennials, generation x-ers, snow birds, etc. To quote a famous King as in Rodney- “can’t we all just get along”. What I did find funny is that on two occasions Rotary was described as a bunch of “stodgy old white guys” and “pale, male and stale”. While I may be pale and male- I am not stale! However, I was surprised at the lack of diversity in a room full of 500 people especially whereas there were clubs from Maine to Connecticut.
I was blown away when I heard that there are still a few clubs that are men only. I think our club would suck and probably not be viable if it wasn’t for our Rotary sisters.
There is some great innovation going on with attendance policies, in meeting service projects, new looks for clubs promotional material, new fund raising ideas, more opportunities for socializing and increasing fellowship and comradery.
I am looking forward to presenting some of these ideas to the club so we can decide what direction we want to go. I am also looking forward to a great year serving as your steward of this great club. Go to any Rotary District event and you will see how other clubs view us- it is pretty good. I always try to hook my wagon to winners- Biddeford Saco Rotary Club is all of that and more!!
Regards,
Joe Moreshead