…A Personal Perspective
By Ron Goodenow, Rotary Club of Westborough
A British academic friend and former colleague has some simple Mithrianic prisms through which he sees the world. As he puts it things are either “hard or soft” or “light or dark.”
Two Rotary related events got me thinking about this initially. One was some reflection on the piece I did here with Steve Sager on ‘locals’ and ‘cosmopolitans’. The other was an informal exchange with the hardworking and open book new president of my club, winner of the Best Club award 2016, Shelby Marshall (below right, wearing best club crown), who loves to hear new ideas….and is a world class implementer. In the case of the latter, we were simply exchanging ideas, one former president to a new one, about ways to better ’humanize’ Rotary, partly because our club is growing rapidly and thinking hard about how to engage new Rotarians. Here then, I want to discuss putting the kind of softness into a club that will make your light shine brighter and members smile, drawing to some degree on my own experience and what is happening in my club as the result of visioning and really good leadership. And yes, partly on the basis of what I hear too often around our district.
So my top level observation is that some clubs come down on a hard side which is not terribly sensitive to individual Rotarians who pay dues and provide service. A perhaps extreme example is that of a friend in a district club who had served at least once as president, but had to leave because of work after over 20 years of membership. He received not a single note of thanks, best wishes or a ‘come back sometime.’ Taken right off the dist list. Right into the dark hard void he went. Or then there was the tireless treasurer of 25 years who was deeply hurt by the president who told her in a directors meeting she, a professional banker, could not be trusted because she didn’t use a computer and spreadsheets. Whoa! Surely, many of our clubs, especially the larger ones, may not have ways to be sure that new members are not left to eat alone…little things can mean a lot. As they go into decline they fail to look at disruptive members or thankless service.
Contrast this to what happened in my club this month when a valued member had to transfer to another club because of a job change. Yup, a great party on the deck of a restaurant to celebrate our time together and wish him luck. Photos of the event posted on the club Facebook page show many smiles and hugs. What was truly fantastic is that our departing Rotarian Bo Daley came up with the idea so we would all enjoy each other one more time. Westborough’s loss is Auburn’s gain. Rotary’s gain. Bo and ‘Bo’s party’ will be remembered for a long time. No dead body here.
When thinking about this issue we need to consider that the devil is in the details, not necessarily in broad fellowship policies. Is there a process for member Rotarians to share their travels, personal successes, hobbies...in personal presentations or sections of the club newsletter or social media sites? Instead of bringing in a speaker, do members have the option of using their allotted time to discuss their own lives? Or maybe a relaxed evening meeting at which two or three members could present stories about their lives. Jason Camuti, an active member at club and district levels, presented a wonderful set of photos and narrative on his recent trip to Columbia last week. I have twice been able to share bits and pieces of a long photographic history. I have felt very valued for being able to do so…and will be sharing more of that next month…come on over to the Chateau in Westborough on September 27 to learn about and see life in a Vietnamese refugee camp after the fall of Siagon.
When I became a member a senior Rotarian couple invited my wife Carol and me to their house for Christmas dinner because our kids were out of reach on the Wesr Coast. When my daughter and her husband went to Mexico to complete his immigration process and I emailed the president of the El Paso Rotary Club asking after a reference over the border who could help them should trouble arise, I got back fanstaic note explaining that he would be available 24/7 to help. While they were there he checked in regularly and offered to give them a day on the town. Now these are examples of Rotary soft power at its best. And yes, the light comes shining through.
Our new District Governor, Karin Gaffney, chose to have her installation and that of fellow club members in her home, not at a run of the mill and highly impersonal hotel. New wine clubs offer a great opportunity for personal interaction. In my travels to other Rotary clubs around North America I’ve seen fun examples of members running meetings in cooperation with an Interact student, or dedicated time each week for members to discuss personal matters. The successful visioning process in my club is heading us in the direction of a new member process which will address ‘classes’ of new members, their needs, interests and fitting in. Would visiioning be a good thing for district officers and committee chairs? You bet it would!
The world feels pretty screwed up right now. What the heck is going on with Russia, or with Syria, North Korea and even Washington DC, where so much seems off the rails? Its all the more reason why soft power is important and Rotary can be a shining light in an increasingly dark world. So think Soft and letting what you do shine. It’s not that hard.
If you have questions or want to share your own experiences we can write up drop a note to Ron.Goodenow@gmail.com so I can follow up.