Our District Nominating Committee is made up of representatives from all eleven areas and it's purpose is to select future District Governors. It is preferable, but not necessary, for the individual to be a Past Assistant Governor so they understand a little more clearly both the responsibilities of being a District Governor and the leadership skills required to be successful in that position.
The position is appointed for three years. Each year either three or four members will rotate off the committee and their replacements selected. Also, if anyone can not or does not fulfill their obligation to the committee, they are replaced.
You guessed it. It is the District Governor Nominee's job to do this. This year three members rotated off naturally but an additional four had to be replaced as well. Two had to withdraw and they selected someone from their area to sit in their chair for that day only. One had moved out of her area into another where there was already a representative. One did not show up. This was a first, an anomaly, but I ended up having to choose replacements for seven areas. The four that were finishing cycles I had to replace for either one or two years. The three natural rotations I had to replace with a full three year term.
I sent my ideas out to the Governor Corps and asked for their input and ended up with a good group consisting of all Past AGs or at least in the AG Tri Level currently. So far five of the seven have accepted. I am still waiting to hear from the other two.
I often refer to this as the single most important day in district committee work so I tried very hard to choose candidates that would take the job very seriously. The DGE was most helpful in one case where I had chosen a candidate that would do a good job, but there was some uncertainty as to her future availability. The DGE suggested a couple others, both were excellent ideas that I have overlooked so a possible problem was averted by selecting one of those two. The rest were received well.
This is the reason for this blog. There are so many things that your are responsible for at each governor level, but there is no document listing it. I mean you can look up the Governor's Training Manual online, but the district specific items aren't there or anywhere else. When my journey is over, or perhaps after each year, I think I will revisit my blog and just create a list of responsibilities that I learned about only after being selected.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
A Slow Week?
The past eleven days have seen the DGN doing the following:
I was the speaker at the DG's club. The subject was TRF so it was easy for me and required very little prep time, just printed out some TRF Direct and Benefactor forms for handouts.
My wife and I attended three club fundraisers. Two were very large with multiple food and wine vendors, live music, etc. The third was rather unique in that the club charged $5 for a copy paper size box of documents to be shredded. They had a shredding truck on the premises and you could watch through a window and see your documents being destroyed. Pretty cool. We actually paid them double because it was worth that for us to clean house a bit and this little club does really nice things so the money was well spent.
At our club meeting I picked up dictionaries for an elementary school near my home. Our district gives dictionaries to all the third graders. My wife and I handle the school nearest us. This year they have seven third grade classes. We go into each classroom and show the kids the different parts of the book. There is a section on presidents, states, the constitution, etc. and, what the kids like best, is the longest word in the English language. Inside the front cover we stick a book plate from our club, signed by a club member, with a line for the student to put their name. For some kids, this is there very first book.
I attended the monthly board meeting of Rotary's Camp Florida which is getting ready for a capital campaign. The organizational/kick off meeting will be in a couple weeks.
My wife and I were invited to a VIP reception the evening before one of the fundraisers. It was very pleasant with light jazz, live, heavy hors d'oeuvres and a wine tasting. We bit on a couple live auction items but were not successful. (However at their silent auction the day of the even we took home 5 items and made a real dent in our discretionary spending account...lol.
As part of the District Training team I have two presentations to prepare, one on the tri level leadership model our district uses, the other on running a successful club. This week I completed the draft, including PowerPoint presentation for the tri-level part. I have two weeks to complete the other one. This is one of the more difficult exercises but I have been collecting best practices and will put them to good use here.
This was the week I selected Rotarian's to sit on the District Nominating Committee but I will make a separate post for that item.
The time since my last post seemed rather slow, Rotary wise, until I checked out my calendar and started to update this blog. I guess there was a lot accomplished even though it didn't seem like it. I am enjoying this journey a lot but it certainly is a very large commitment with regards to time and resources.
I was the speaker at the DG's club. The subject was TRF so it was easy for me and required very little prep time, just printed out some TRF Direct and Benefactor forms for handouts.
My wife and I attended three club fundraisers. Two were very large with multiple food and wine vendors, live music, etc. The third was rather unique in that the club charged $5 for a copy paper size box of documents to be shredded. They had a shredding truck on the premises and you could watch through a window and see your documents being destroyed. Pretty cool. We actually paid them double because it was worth that for us to clean house a bit and this little club does really nice things so the money was well spent.
At our club meeting I picked up dictionaries for an elementary school near my home. Our district gives dictionaries to all the third graders. My wife and I handle the school nearest us. This year they have seven third grade classes. We go into each classroom and show the kids the different parts of the book. There is a section on presidents, states, the constitution, etc. and, what the kids like best, is the longest word in the English language. Inside the front cover we stick a book plate from our club, signed by a club member, with a line for the student to put their name. For some kids, this is there very first book.
I attended the monthly board meeting of Rotary's Camp Florida which is getting ready for a capital campaign. The organizational/kick off meeting will be in a couple weeks.
My wife and I were invited to a VIP reception the evening before one of the fundraisers. It was very pleasant with light jazz, live, heavy hors d'oeuvres and a wine tasting. We bit on a couple live auction items but were not successful. (However at their silent auction the day of the even we took home 5 items and made a real dent in our discretionary spending account...lol.
As part of the District Training team I have two presentations to prepare, one on the tri level leadership model our district uses, the other on running a successful club. This week I completed the draft, including PowerPoint presentation for the tri-level part. I have two weeks to complete the other one. This is one of the more difficult exercises but I have been collecting best practices and will put them to good use here.
This was the week I selected Rotarian's to sit on the District Nominating Committee but I will make a separate post for that item.
The time since my last post seemed rather slow, Rotary wise, until I checked out my calendar and started to update this blog. I guess there was a lot accomplished even though it didn't seem like it. I am enjoying this journey a lot but it certainly is a very large commitment with regards to time and resources.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
International Convention - New Orleans
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the International Convention. Our Zone Director's excellent idea of having class hospitality rooms at Zone Institute paid off big time. My classmates are actively participating in planning a reunion for us in New Orleans. Is that cool or what? Looks like it will be on Sunday. I am sure I will have updates as the time draws nearer but my wife and I are registered and have our rooms.
We Have A New DGND!!!!! It has been a year already!
I find it so hard to believe but it has been a year since I started this journey. Now, I am no longer the lowest rung on the DG ladder. I was very pleased to see a friend of mine selected this year. When we had discussed running for DG it was to be he followed by me in our dreams - we reversed the order but this is very, very cool.
I sat in with the nominating committee. The chair and the three people in the Governor Corps are non voting members of the committee. One representative from each of our eleven areas votes for the DGND after the interviews.
This year was a bit odd. I thought my friend was a very clear cut victor - was I biased? I really don't think so as the DGE and Committee Chair also had him as a clear winner. Still, there was spirited conversation amongst the voting members, and the non voting members.
I feel the best person was selected. As I have tried to keep this blog pretty anonymous, I will not mention his name but "You know who you are - Congratulations!"
I sat in with the nominating committee. The chair and the three people in the Governor Corps are non voting members of the committee. One representative from each of our eleven areas votes for the DGND after the interviews.
This year was a bit odd. I thought my friend was a very clear cut victor - was I biased? I really don't think so as the DGE and Committee Chair also had him as a clear winner. Still, there was spirited conversation amongst the voting members, and the non voting members.
I feel the best person was selected. As I have tried to keep this blog pretty anonymous, I will not mention his name but "You know who you are - Congratulations!"
Monthly Recap
Boy, I am not good at keeping this blog current. I have two years and eight months to get better - maybe longer if I delve into PDGland.
So what has gone on this past month?
On October 8th I attended the dinner for discussion leader for the Rotary Leadership Institute and the next day facilitated session for TRF and Membership.
After a week at my factory in Wisconsin I returned in time to spend some time at our club exhibit at Bay Fest, a fun, food, craft etc. annual program. Great fun.
On October 18th I picked up our Ambassadorial Scholar from Nigeria and took her to a club meeting. Nothing but fun. She is incredible.
After our club meeting and a new member induction on the 19th, the 20th found me at a meeting of our District Training Team.
A quick trip to California to visit my brother was followed by an appearance at a local club's fundraiser kick off gathering for sponsors and VIPs on October 28th.
Picked up my new car on the 29th. I only mention this because I wonder how many miles we will put on together during the 39 month lease. I cannot imagine.
Monday, November 1st brought me to Rotary's Camp Florida for a Governance Committee Meeting.
November 2nd found me at another District Training Team meeting. I have three major projects. I have to rewrite the AG tri level leadership criteria, complete with flow charts and scenarios. I also have to create Power Point Presentations for the Tri Level Leadership plan and Running effective club meetings for part of Pre PETS. I have three weeks to complete these tasks. Plus I have to do a TRF presentation at our Governor's club on November 12th. I am cool with TRF so it will not be an issue, still, I have to do some planning.
I know it looks like a lot of work, but I am enjoying every moment so far. My DGE has included me on every step, I have attended all her PETS meetings, I have taken an active role in her leadership training. This is so great because the transition from her year to mine will be totally seamless - something I will do with my successor as well.
So what has gone on this past month?
On October 8th I attended the dinner for discussion leader for the Rotary Leadership Institute and the next day facilitated session for TRF and Membership.
After a week at my factory in Wisconsin I returned in time to spend some time at our club exhibit at Bay Fest, a fun, food, craft etc. annual program. Great fun.
On October 18th I picked up our Ambassadorial Scholar from Nigeria and took her to a club meeting. Nothing but fun. She is incredible.
After our club meeting and a new member induction on the 19th, the 20th found me at a meeting of our District Training Team.
A quick trip to California to visit my brother was followed by an appearance at a local club's fundraiser kick off gathering for sponsors and VIPs on October 28th.
Picked up my new car on the 29th. I only mention this because I wonder how many miles we will put on together during the 39 month lease. I cannot imagine.
Monday, November 1st brought me to Rotary's Camp Florida for a Governance Committee Meeting.
November 2nd found me at another District Training Team meeting. I have three major projects. I have to rewrite the AG tri level leadership criteria, complete with flow charts and scenarios. I also have to create Power Point Presentations for the Tri Level Leadership plan and Running effective club meetings for part of Pre PETS. I have three weeks to complete these tasks. Plus I have to do a TRF presentation at our Governor's club on November 12th. I am cool with TRF so it will not be an issue, still, I have to do some planning.
I know it looks like a lot of work, but I am enjoying every moment so far. My DGE has included me on every step, I have attended all her PETS meetings, I have taken an active role in her leadership training. This is so great because the transition from her year to mine will be totally seamless - something I will do with my successor as well.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Ambassadorial Scholar 2012-2013
At the Zone Institute, in our hospitality room, the DGN from District 7020 in the Caribbean and I agreed that my district would sponsor a scholar from their district to come and study here. We had tried a couple years ago and had a candidate from Haiti, but that was the year of all the hurricanes and communication was so bad we never received a completed application. I am glad we have a chance to try it again. The candidate may not be from Haiti as there are several counties in District 7020, but the DGN was quite sure they could put it together.
Speaking of Ambassadorial Scholars, my committee vice chair has completed her planning and we have a new committee in place. She has to confirm with a couple Rotarians yet, but on paper it is complete. We expanded the committee from 7 to 9 voting members, three from the north, three from the central and three from the south section of our district. In each area there will be a 3 year position, a two year position and a one year position to assure total continuity. I am very pleased with this change. It may be "the lasting mark" I leave after seven years of service.
Speaking of Ambassadorial Scholars, my committee vice chair has completed her planning and we have a new committee in place. She has to confirm with a couple Rotarians yet, but on paper it is complete. We expanded the committee from 7 to 9 voting members, three from the north, three from the central and three from the south section of our district. In each area there will be a 3 year position, a two year position and a one year position to assure total continuity. I am very pleased with this change. It may be "the lasting mark" I leave after seven years of service.
Zone Conference Summary
Wow. Wow. Wow. What an incredible event. Actually, it was two events, the Governor Elect and Governor Nominee Training Seminars, and the Zone Institute.
You may recall that I was tapped to do a couple jobs and received the title "Class Captain". This was primarily because the event was in our district so it made the most sense.
My first job was to make arrangements with a local restaurant to host our "Class Dinner". This was really quite simple. I asked our Zone Director's wife for recommendations because they live there and quickly identified a good venue. I contacted the restaurant, told them we would be a group of a maximum of 58 guests and secured their private room for that date. I then contacted all the DGNs and started getting commitments as to whether or not they or their spouse would be attending. We ended up with 28 of 29 DGNs attending and a total of 46 people.
My second job was to organize and furnish a hospitality room for our class. This was a bit more involved. The Zone Committee paid the difference between a room and a suite so we had a nice area to entertain. I polled my classmates to find out what they would like to eat and drink but on a few responded so it was pretty much guesswork. I charged each district $20 and purchased wine, beer, snacks, juices, water, etc. Any booze and mixers were to be furnished to "sip and share" by the attendees.
We arrived Tuesday around 2:30 PM, checked in and paid a bellman to haul all the stuff up to our room. I am just too out of shape to even consider it. We opened the room at 5:00 PM and shut it down around 6:00 PM each day, as there was a reception and dinner each day, then reopened after dinner until about 10:30 PM or so. A couple nights it got a little later. Friday we didn't open until after dinner because we had to catch buses for our Class Dinner at 5:30 PM. The room ran smoothly. Nobody got rowdy or noticeably intoxicated and except for the beer, we had too much beer, we ran out or close to out of everything by the last day. I did haul home a little wine and soda too, but not too much. I will donate the beer to our club and we will use the other stuff around the house. In exchange I will make a $100 donation to TRF as no one wanted a refund.
Okay, so we arrived Tuesday and besides the hospitality room we had a reception for the DGEs and DGNs and then a nice dinner. The food at this event was top notch the whole time. Probably the best banquet eating experience I ever attended. The next morning at 8:00 AM we went to school.
Day 1. Class began at 8:00 AM. All 29 DGNs were in one room, DGEs in another as the content would be different. We reviewed time lines, organization, event planning, budgeting, TRF, tossed questions to a Senior Leadership Panel and finally discussed membership. There was a lunch break with a speaker and class ended at 5:00 PM. Hurried up to the room to get ice and get it open, then dinner followed by more fellowship in the room. By this time our classmates were all beginning to get comfortable with each other and information sharing between district was almost as helpful as the formal classes. One classmate actually said he learned more in the room than in the formal classes and he might be right. I assume this was the purpose of the room in the first place.
Day 2. We got an extra hour of sleep as we didn't start until 9:00 AM. The first session was the DGNs and Spouses. (The rest of the time the spouses were in their own sessions. I will not list all that content here, but it was pretty intensive as well.) A panel of PDGs and their spouses, both male and female, spoke about their year and then fielded questions that we had each submitted ahead of time. After a break we had a session on available resources followed by something pretty cool. Three DGNs would sit at a table with 4 DGs or PDGs and just talk, ask questions, get advice, etc. After half an hour all the DGNs rotated to another table with new mentors. After lunch there were ancillary meetings. I was invited to two of them. The first was our PETS meeting where DGNs are invited to watch and listen as the DGEs and the PETS Executive Committee continued planning the 2011 Florida PETS. I took a lot of notes. This was the third meeting of this group and things are coming together. The second meeting was a session on our database by the person who created it. It included a look ahead to where the programing was heading and plenty of time for Q&A. Done at 5:00 PM, hurry upstairs to get ice and open the room....sound familiar? Dinner was followed by more fellowship in the room. I should mention that all meals had speakers.
Day 3. The Zone Institute Begins. This one started out early with a breakfast at 7:15 AM for TRF Major Donors and at 8:00 AM the house of friendship opened, as well as a silent auction. (We donated a serving tray valued at $100.) The first plenary session opened at 8:45 AM with an overall focus on Public Image and Strengthening Clubs. It was outstanding. General Secretary Futa was one of the speakers, as was a person called The Branding Doctor who talked about Rotary as a brand name. This was followed by small breakouts where groups got together and discussed the plenary session. After lunch the second plenary session started. This one was focused on Focus and Increase Humanitarian Service and was again followed by breakouts to discuss the plenary. At 5:00 PM there was a Puerto Rican Rum Fest and my class had just about time for one Mojito before boarding out buses for our Class Dinner. Dinner was fun. One table, closest to the restrooms, would not allow anyone to pass without donating to the CART fund. Well, you have to go and CART raised $200. Grabbed buses back to the hotel, got ice, opened the room, fell into bed around 1AM.
Day 4. Plenary 3 opened at 8:45 AM with a Haiti Symposium. After lunch we were on our own and there were several activities you could take part in. I caught up on email and actually took a short nap. We opened the room at 4:00 PM instead of 5:00 PM. It was one of our classmates birthday and her district furnished a cake and had a little party. Regular fellowship followed, then dinner and back to the room for more fellowship.
Day 5. The day started with a memorial service honoring all the governors that passed away since the last institute, complete with a choir of Rotarians, it was very moving. Plenary 4 began at 9:15 AM and included discussions on the project our silent auction was for called Youth Haven, a home for abandoned, battered, molested or otherwise harmed children. Another part was an introduction to next years Zone Institute in Virginia and the International Convention committee for 2016 was introduced. That is the year the International Convention comes to our Zone and, specifically, Atlanta.
Time to check out and hit the road.
We stopped on the way out of town for lunch and, of course, ran into other Rotarians and an enjoyable conversation took place.
You will notice there was not a lot of down time. I slept 11 hours that night. But the GNTS and Zone Institute is not something I will soon forget and I am already looking forward to the next one in Virginia. Prior to that our class is discussing getting together at the International Convention in New Orleans next spring.
I was told becoming a District Governor would be a lot of work. It has been. I was told there would be unforgettable moments. This was one. If you choose to become a DG, you will enjoy Zone. I guarantee it.
You may recall that I was tapped to do a couple jobs and received the title "Class Captain". This was primarily because the event was in our district so it made the most sense.
My first job was to make arrangements with a local restaurant to host our "Class Dinner". This was really quite simple. I asked our Zone Director's wife for recommendations because they live there and quickly identified a good venue. I contacted the restaurant, told them we would be a group of a maximum of 58 guests and secured their private room for that date. I then contacted all the DGNs and started getting commitments as to whether or not they or their spouse would be attending. We ended up with 28 of 29 DGNs attending and a total of 46 people.
My second job was to organize and furnish a hospitality room for our class. This was a bit more involved. The Zone Committee paid the difference between a room and a suite so we had a nice area to entertain. I polled my classmates to find out what they would like to eat and drink but on a few responded so it was pretty much guesswork. I charged each district $20 and purchased wine, beer, snacks, juices, water, etc. Any booze and mixers were to be furnished to "sip and share" by the attendees.
We arrived Tuesday around 2:30 PM, checked in and paid a bellman to haul all the stuff up to our room. I am just too out of shape to even consider it. We opened the room at 5:00 PM and shut it down around 6:00 PM each day, as there was a reception and dinner each day, then reopened after dinner until about 10:30 PM or so. A couple nights it got a little later. Friday we didn't open until after dinner because we had to catch buses for our Class Dinner at 5:30 PM. The room ran smoothly. Nobody got rowdy or noticeably intoxicated and except for the beer, we had too much beer, we ran out or close to out of everything by the last day. I did haul home a little wine and soda too, but not too much. I will donate the beer to our club and we will use the other stuff around the house. In exchange I will make a $100 donation to TRF as no one wanted a refund.
Okay, so we arrived Tuesday and besides the hospitality room we had a reception for the DGEs and DGNs and then a nice dinner. The food at this event was top notch the whole time. Probably the best banquet eating experience I ever attended. The next morning at 8:00 AM we went to school.
Day 1. Class began at 8:00 AM. All 29 DGNs were in one room, DGEs in another as the content would be different. We reviewed time lines, organization, event planning, budgeting, TRF, tossed questions to a Senior Leadership Panel and finally discussed membership. There was a lunch break with a speaker and class ended at 5:00 PM. Hurried up to the room to get ice and get it open, then dinner followed by more fellowship in the room. By this time our classmates were all beginning to get comfortable with each other and information sharing between district was almost as helpful as the formal classes. One classmate actually said he learned more in the room than in the formal classes and he might be right. I assume this was the purpose of the room in the first place.
Day 2. We got an extra hour of sleep as we didn't start until 9:00 AM. The first session was the DGNs and Spouses. (The rest of the time the spouses were in their own sessions. I will not list all that content here, but it was pretty intensive as well.) A panel of PDGs and their spouses, both male and female, spoke about their year and then fielded questions that we had each submitted ahead of time. After a break we had a session on available resources followed by something pretty cool. Three DGNs would sit at a table with 4 DGs or PDGs and just talk, ask questions, get advice, etc. After half an hour all the DGNs rotated to another table with new mentors. After lunch there were ancillary meetings. I was invited to two of them. The first was our PETS meeting where DGNs are invited to watch and listen as the DGEs and the PETS Executive Committee continued planning the 2011 Florida PETS. I took a lot of notes. This was the third meeting of this group and things are coming together. The second meeting was a session on our database by the person who created it. It included a look ahead to where the programing was heading and plenty of time for Q&A. Done at 5:00 PM, hurry upstairs to get ice and open the room....sound familiar? Dinner was followed by more fellowship in the room. I should mention that all meals had speakers.
Day 3. The Zone Institute Begins. This one started out early with a breakfast at 7:15 AM for TRF Major Donors and at 8:00 AM the house of friendship opened, as well as a silent auction. (We donated a serving tray valued at $100.) The first plenary session opened at 8:45 AM with an overall focus on Public Image and Strengthening Clubs. It was outstanding. General Secretary Futa was one of the speakers, as was a person called The Branding Doctor who talked about Rotary as a brand name. This was followed by small breakouts where groups got together and discussed the plenary session. After lunch the second plenary session started. This one was focused on Focus and Increase Humanitarian Service and was again followed by breakouts to discuss the plenary. At 5:00 PM there was a Puerto Rican Rum Fest and my class had just about time for one Mojito before boarding out buses for our Class Dinner. Dinner was fun. One table, closest to the restrooms, would not allow anyone to pass without donating to the CART fund. Well, you have to go and CART raised $200. Grabbed buses back to the hotel, got ice, opened the room, fell into bed around 1AM.
Day 4. Plenary 3 opened at 8:45 AM with a Haiti Symposium. After lunch we were on our own and there were several activities you could take part in. I caught up on email and actually took a short nap. We opened the room at 4:00 PM instead of 5:00 PM. It was one of our classmates birthday and her district furnished a cake and had a little party. Regular fellowship followed, then dinner and back to the room for more fellowship.
Day 5. The day started with a memorial service honoring all the governors that passed away since the last institute, complete with a choir of Rotarians, it was very moving. Plenary 4 began at 9:15 AM and included discussions on the project our silent auction was for called Youth Haven, a home for abandoned, battered, molested or otherwise harmed children. Another part was an introduction to next years Zone Institute in Virginia and the International Convention committee for 2016 was introduced. That is the year the International Convention comes to our Zone and, specifically, Atlanta.
Time to check out and hit the road.
We stopped on the way out of town for lunch and, of course, ran into other Rotarians and an enjoyable conversation took place.
You will notice there was not a lot of down time. I slept 11 hours that night. But the GNTS and Zone Institute is not something I will soon forget and I am already looking forward to the next one in Virginia. Prior to that our class is discussing getting together at the International Convention in New Orleans next spring.
I was told becoming a District Governor would be a lot of work. It has been. I was told there would be unforgettable moments. This was one. If you choose to become a DG, you will enjoy Zone. I guarantee it.
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