District Governor Nominee Designate

Beginning in August or September, 2009 I started asking questions of Past District Governors (PDG) about the nomination process and what I should know prior to taking part in it. In our District the Nominating Committee is made up of a representative of each Area in the Distrct (District 6960 has 11), a chairperson and the current District Governor Nominee, District Governor Elect and District Governor.

I was told I would be asked questions about Rotary, past present and future and one or two personal questions, and that all candidates would be asked the same questions. The actual selection criteria remain a mystery to me, as it should so it can truly be "Fair to all Concerned".

I knew the date of interview where the selection would be made was November 21st and understood I would be given a time slot to appear before the committee. As the time grew closer, also knew there were four others being interviewed for the position.
Thanks to the input of others, I made a deck of flashcards that contained facts and figures about Rotary and our district. How many clubs? How many districts? How many countries. The Object of Rotary. The Object of the Rotary Foundation. Foundation Programs. The Future Vision Plan. I skim read the District Governor's Training Manual (available online) and noted any points I felt were important to the job. All these things I reduced to my deck of flash cards which I studied, during cocktail hour most evenings. It was really a good exercise because I learned a lot I didn't know in some cases, and added depth of knowledge in others. But there was so much information out there and I had no idea what questions would be asked. Still, by the time my interview rolled around, I was the second of five, I knew I had a fairly well rounded knowledge of Rotary and I hoped that my Rotary and VFW resumes of experience would qualify my as a good candidate.

I was nervous, no doubt, when I walked into the interview room and introduced myself to the fifteen people sitting on the panel. I knew many of them through my work in Rotary but there were several new faces, too. I took my seat and waited as the chairman explained the process and then asked the first question. "What is the Object of Rotary?". I don't think I'm giving away any secrets by saying he asked that question because I am sure anyone considering this office would anticipate that would be one of the questions, I mean my goodness, if you don't know the Object of Rotary how could you fulfill it? But I have to be honest, I studied that particular item over and over and over again, it is quite lengthy and I wanted to commit it to memory, and even the night before I was still making errors when I tried to recite it. But that morning I nailed it perfectly and all my nervousness disappeared. I had aced the part that had been the most difficult for me. From that point on I just answered the questions that were put to me by the panelists to the best of my ability, being perfectly honest about any personal questions and supporting Rotary answers with facts whenever possible. When it was over, forty five minutes later, I thought I had done a good job. Maybe, just maybe I had a shot at this.

Our district has a tradition of toasting the winner with a glass of champagne. After the interviews are over and the committee has determined the Rotarian best suited to be the next District Governor, they drive to the candidate's house to personally give them the good news. They call the others.
As the day went by and my phone didn't ring I started getting excited. Could it be me? Could I have gotten the nod in my first attempt? My wife, Pam, was also getting excited. She is a Rotarian too and this was something that we could do as a couple, which was really cool.

Finally, around 4:15 PM my doorbell rang. I did a couple quick fist pumps, let out a deep breath and opened the door. There stood the Nominations Committee Chairman, a few of the committee members and a small cooler containing two bottles of champagne. I had been selected. I would be the District Governor in 2012-2013 and was now, officially, the District Governor Nominee Designate. I will remain that until April 10th, 2010 when, at the District Assembly, the membership will (hopefully) ratify my nomination and I will become the District Governor Nominee.
My first job after that was to officially relinquish all my job assignments in the VFW. I understood going into this that my involvement in Rotary at this level would require me to remove myself at several levels of the VFW. I have been a National Recruiter for 15 years, the Department of Florida Director of Recruiting and/or State Recruiter since 2002. Membership Chairman of my District and my Post. All these jobs I would have to give up to concentrate on my new Rotary position. These were very difficult emails and phone calls, but as of June 30th, 2010 I will hold no offices other than Post Member.

Since becoming the DGND the district has not allowed any grass to grow beneath my feet. I was given until International Assembly in January to appoint a Rotarian in each of the 11 Areas to be my Assistant Governors in 2012-2013. In our district this is a three year commitment and if they accepted they would be the AG for Membership and Service in 2010-2011, the AG for TRF in 2011-2012 and the AG in 2012-2013. I wish I would have documented this process better as it was interesting. There were some that didn't want to or didn't have time to take on that responsibility and time commitment, others that were very excited to be asked. By the middle of the International Assembly I had completed the task. I had my 11 Assistant Governors and I couldn't be happier with the selections. I have personally met all but one and they are a great group of Rotarians.

Another small detail that needed attending was to get professional portrait photos taken of my wife and I, separate and together. Luckily we have a Rotarian in our Area that is an outstanding photographer and did a really nice job of trying to make me presentable. I don't remember when the photos were due to the Nominations Chair for submission to Rotary International but I am pretty sure it was in December.

Our District runs a training seminar prior to PETS (President Elect Training Seminar) simply called pre PETS. Its mission is to instruct the president's elect and incoming AGs on items that are important do our district that will not be covered in our multi-district PETS assembly in March. So, as DGND I was expected to take an active part in presenting these items on February 6th, and I did. We have a District Trainer who is absolutely wonderful. She sent me PP slides of the entire program so I could work on my parts of the presentations and I think it came off pretty nicely.

Two weeks later, on February 20th, we held our District Leadership Seminar which was very similar to the pre PETS but geared for the Tri Level Assistant Governors. Again, as DGND it was my responsibility to help in the presentation to these future leaders - and again our District Trainer made my job easy by furnishing the presentation outline reflecting my parts so I could work on what I wanted to say well in advance of the meeting itself. The presentation lasted all morning and after a lunch break we broke into small groups. The incoming Assistant Governors met with the incoming Governor. The incoming AGs TRF met with the incoming DGE and the incoming District TRF Chair and my group, the incoming AGs Membership and Service met with me and the incoming District Membership Chairman.

Our breakout session covered some needs and strategies. We decided that after PETS, the AGs would determine who the membership chairmen of the clubs in their areas are going to be and begin the process of developing a relationship with them. We also decided to meet again, as a group, immediately following our District Assembly on April 10th.

Immediately following the Leadership Training Seminar I was invited to take part in a meeting of the College of Governors. The meeting was part reporting forum and part think tank operation and I found it very interesting. The Governor reported in detail on his year, goals that had been accomplished as well as those that may fall short. The DGE reported on the International Assembly, again in detail and his wife reported on the spouses sessions that took place.

That was yesterday so we are up to date. As things cross my mind that affect this page previous to this point or the two pages leading up, I will edit them. From this point forward I hope to chronicle my journey in more detail, as it happens. Wish me luck!