This Week = PETS!

This upcoming Thursday - Saturday is All Florida PETS, President Elects Training Seminar. Once we, the District Training Team, got past Pre PETS and Area Leadership Training if was full ahead working on PETS although almost all the preliminary work, the format, etc. was already determined.

In Florida, all the districts get together for one big PETS. With this pooled resource, we can bring in some pretty impressive speakers. As an example, this year the Rotary International President Elect if flying in from India to take part. I attended the last District PETs when I was a president nominee. It was good, but it was all the district folks you saw at everything and there really were no imported high power speakers. The following year as a PE I attended the first multi district PETS. Wow! What a difference! New faces as PDGs and RLI folks from all over the state, some from each district, are used as presenters and the guest speakers? Wow! I have been to nearly every PETS since, I think all but one, for one reason or another, twice as a spouse when my wife was PE and incoming AG. This year it will be more important than ever before. Next year I have to do this for my district. I have a lot to learn through observation this year.

I have one, hour long presentation on Friday titled "How Can We Help You?" It goes through resources from the Presidents Manual, District Leadership (the five standing committees) websites and even R.I. Support. If I were a PE this would be very important to me and I am looking forward to presenting it. I have completed the presentation and handouts and just have to practice. The pressure is pretty much off now.

Agenda.

On Thursday morning my skills will be used as a stuffer, adding our district information to the PETS packages the PEs will receive when they register. Thursday afternoon takes me and my Florida classmates on a tour of our new facility for next year - yes, we have outgrown the current one. Registration begins at noon and there are voluntary sessions on the District and Club Databases and Public Relations and Branding.

Friday things really crank up with District Breakouts beginning at 9:00 AM. These breakouts is where District Specific information is passed along to the PEs. After lunch there is an AG breakout and there are 16 breakouts for PEs, split into groups by club size (and RLI training) so the intruction is as relevent as the issues are different. These sessions are on information in common to everyone regardless of location, club size or any other reference point. There is a banquet with speaker that evening.

Saturday begins with a breakfast and speaker. This day the classes are reversed with the District Breakouts in the afternoon and the All Florida breakouts in the morning. There is a speaker at lunch.

As I said earlier. The most important thing I want to come away with is a good handle on how everything worked. Unfortunately, I will not be able to judge the content of all the sessions as I will have PETS Board work to do - see next post - but I do have a copy of the curriculem.