I thought it might be of help to emphasize how fast things have gone and, to a much greater degree, how fast they will go from this day forward.
If you have followed my blog from the beginning you will see a lot of time has been committed to this journey. I will state that the time has been spent without complaint as I truly am enjoying the experience, but you need to understand that this is not like being a club president - you have to be able to commit significant time to this and it comes at you fast.
A brief look at my calendar.
Tomorrow is a meeting of our training team. We are working on the two February 11th programs, Pre PETS and Area Leadership. The two combined compose a full day of district training. It is the team's job to make sure it is a productive use of the club PE's time while fulfilling the needs of the district. This team meets frequently.
January is International Assembly in San Diego, CA.
February is Pre Pets and Area Leadership Training
March is PETS in Orlando and our District Assembly.
April is the District Conference.
May is the International Convention in Bangkok
July 1st the DG year begins. Mid month are the TRF and Membership Seminars.
July into October are the 52 official visits.
There is no rest between now and a year from now. It is going to be high speed and exciting. Keep in mind that should you decide to be, and if you are selected to be a District Governor, your busiest time will be from October to October, DGE to DG years. I am in close contact with our current governor, just completed with her official visits. She continues to reinforce that I should plan and complete every action possible prior to January because there will be no time after that. I believe her. It is October 25th and I am already pretty much out of time. So I pass along the same advice. Get everything done six months before you think it needs to be done. A year would be better.
Till next time!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
GETS and Zone Institute
Since my last post I had to prepare for and attend GETS (Governor Elect Training Seminar) and the Zone Institute held consecutively in Reston, VA. As you may recall, we are in Zone 34 which runs from Georgia down through the Caribbean and even the N.E. part of South America. We share a director with Zone 33 which is the eastern seaboard north of Georgia to Southern Mass. Last year we met in Naples, FL and next year we will meet in Hilton Head, SC. The purpose of GETS is pretty self explanatory, the Zone Institute is to bring us up to date on Zone activities and programs as well as worldwide programs such as the eradication of polio. There is also a heck of a lot of fellowship in the evenings, after the banquets, in hospitality rooms for each class. I have 28 classmates in our two zones and we really enjoy each others company.
One of the big deals of GETS was getting you ready for public speaking. All 29 of us had to present a two minute piece on What is Rotary, Who are Rotarians, what do Rotarians do, or a personal Rotary moment. I procrastinated and did not prepare mine till the night before. It came to two minutes, nineteen seconds which I assumed would be okay. Never assume. I crossed out some thoughts and abbreviated others at the last minute, sitting there waiting for my turn, and got it down to two minutes. My evaluations were pretty good but the important one, a formal evaluation by the pros, has yet to appear in my drop box. We will have to repeat that performance, or edit and perform anew, at the International Assembly next January.
One of the high points was meeting our R.I. President Elect Sakuji Tanaka and his wife. Mr. Tanaka spent time with us in our hospitality room two evenings and attended our class dinner. We all chipped in $100 to have our picture taken with them and raised $3K for Polio Plus.
If you look back to last year, end of September, first of October, you will see what was learned at GETS last year. Actually I guess that would be called GNTS since we were nominees. We had an additional day last year and I felt badly that the class of 13-14 did not have the same opportunity.
In addition to helpful training there were some ancillary meetings. As an example our PETS board met for an hour - which was not enough time. The annual meeting of the Caribbean Partnership of which all our DGEs are board members took place. There was a three hour session during our free time that went in depth into public relations. I think all DGEs and most DGNs attended. The room was packed.
One really neat plenary session was Celine Cousteau, granddaughter of Jacques, gave a presentation on her growing up on Calypso. Her expeditions have not ceased and she now specializes in how people relate to the environment. With photos and videos you can only imagine how interesting this was to all, and very relevant as many possible projects popped into Rotarian's heads, I guarantee.
I was gone an entire week, with my wife of course, and it flew by. And I wished there had been more time to learn even more. The more you learn the more you understand how little you really know. Another subject that we learned about was the International Assembly in January, and if I thought this week was busy, we were told you ain't seen nothing yet. Next January, in San Diego, CA I get the biggest, most intense training sessions yet, full time all day and into the evening. All 532 DGEs from around the world will be there. I am really looking forward to it.
Like any large program you come home (last night) pretty motivated with a feeling of confidence only slightly offset by the massiveness of the responsibility. What kind of governor will I be? Will I be prepared? There is no doubt I will be. Rotary has taken care of that. I am also very humbled by the support my district has given me to date. When your peers think you will be a good leader it adds a bit of pressure to not let them down, but it also adds a lot of confidence because of the support you receive. My job is to help clubs forward the Object of Rotary, nothing more or less. I have no ego that needs stroking. I see it as an opportunity to serve.
One of the big deals of GETS was getting you ready for public speaking. All 29 of us had to present a two minute piece on What is Rotary, Who are Rotarians, what do Rotarians do, or a personal Rotary moment. I procrastinated and did not prepare mine till the night before. It came to two minutes, nineteen seconds which I assumed would be okay. Never assume. I crossed out some thoughts and abbreviated others at the last minute, sitting there waiting for my turn, and got it down to two minutes. My evaluations were pretty good but the important one, a formal evaluation by the pros, has yet to appear in my drop box. We will have to repeat that performance, or edit and perform anew, at the International Assembly next January.
One of the high points was meeting our R.I. President Elect Sakuji Tanaka and his wife. Mr. Tanaka spent time with us in our hospitality room two evenings and attended our class dinner. We all chipped in $100 to have our picture taken with them and raised $3K for Polio Plus.
If you look back to last year, end of September, first of October, you will see what was learned at GETS last year. Actually I guess that would be called GNTS since we were nominees. We had an additional day last year and I felt badly that the class of 13-14 did not have the same opportunity.
In addition to helpful training there were some ancillary meetings. As an example our PETS board met for an hour - which was not enough time. The annual meeting of the Caribbean Partnership of which all our DGEs are board members took place. There was a three hour session during our free time that went in depth into public relations. I think all DGEs and most DGNs attended. The room was packed.
One really neat plenary session was Celine Cousteau, granddaughter of Jacques, gave a presentation on her growing up on Calypso. Her expeditions have not ceased and she now specializes in how people relate to the environment. With photos and videos you can only imagine how interesting this was to all, and very relevant as many possible projects popped into Rotarian's heads, I guarantee.
I was gone an entire week, with my wife of course, and it flew by. And I wished there had been more time to learn even more. The more you learn the more you understand how little you really know. Another subject that we learned about was the International Assembly in January, and if I thought this week was busy, we were told you ain't seen nothing yet. Next January, in San Diego, CA I get the biggest, most intense training sessions yet, full time all day and into the evening. All 532 DGEs from around the world will be there. I am really looking forward to it.
Like any large program you come home (last night) pretty motivated with a feeling of confidence only slightly offset by the massiveness of the responsibility. What kind of governor will I be? Will I be prepared? There is no doubt I will be. Rotary has taken care of that. I am also very humbled by the support my district has given me to date. When your peers think you will be a good leader it adds a bit of pressure to not let them down, but it also adds a lot of confidence because of the support you receive. My job is to help clubs forward the Object of Rotary, nothing more or less. I have no ego that needs stroking. I see it as an opportunity to serve.
Monday, October 3, 2011
September 2011
Another month has passed and the most significant things that took place was turning 60 and finding out I am going to be a great grandfather in April. Besides having a nifty birthday party I had trips to WI, CA and OH.
Rotary wise I had a meeting with a trusted fellow Rotarian and bounced some ideas around for the 2012-2013 year with regards to governor projects and awards. I am preparing for GETS in two weeks and also for International Assembly in January. There is quite a bit of work required behind the scenes to prepare. Little stuff but it adds up quickly.
I attended a webinar on District Grants put on by TRF that was helpful in increasing my knowledge and preparing for the role out of Future Visions in 2013.
The governor has rolled out her project "Honor Flight" and I am getting that information to my friends in the VFW.
This may have been the slowest Rotary month I have had since getting into the governor string - but that's okay as my business needed me to catch up there a bit so it worked out fine.
Zone in two weeks. Lots to do between now and then.
My next blog entry will be after returning from GETS/Zone Institute.
Rotary wise I had a meeting with a trusted fellow Rotarian and bounced some ideas around for the 2012-2013 year with regards to governor projects and awards. I am preparing for GETS in two weeks and also for International Assembly in January. There is quite a bit of work required behind the scenes to prepare. Little stuff but it adds up quickly.
I attended a webinar on District Grants put on by TRF that was helpful in increasing my knowledge and preparing for the role out of Future Visions in 2013.
The governor has rolled out her project "Honor Flight" and I am getting that information to my friends in the VFW.
This may have been the slowest Rotary month I have had since getting into the governor string - but that's okay as my business needed me to catch up there a bit so it worked out fine.
Zone in two weeks. Lots to do between now and then.
My next blog entry will be after returning from GETS/Zone Institute.
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