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Frank Deaver Rotary Editorials
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Prepared to Serve By Frank Deaver Rotary Club of Tuscaloosa, Alabama USA Is there any other organization that experiences a total turnover of leadership every year? In July, more than 32,000 men and women will begin their service as Rotary Club President, with full knowledge that they have only twelve months to accomplish their plans. The same annual cycle applies also for district governors and presidents of Rotary International. At all three levels, new leadership is inaugurated each July, embarking on a year-long journey of high expectations. Business executives of the corporate world must look with amazement, even envy, at the success of Rotary. They can hardly imagine such a turnover of leadership in the business community. The secret, of course (and it's no secret, really) is in one word: preparation. Club Presidents, according to the Standard Club Constitution, first serve a full year as President-Elect (PE). For them, it is not just a year-in-waiting. The entire year is to be spent "shadowing" the incumbent President, observing and learning, and formulating plans for the following year. If a PE should assume that the primary job of a Rotary President is to preside at weekly meetings, that assumption in itself is evidence of a steep learning curve that inevitably lies ahead. Presidents-Elect are expected to attend PETS, the President-Elect Training Seminar, conducted at the district or multi-district level. Here they are given the benefit of both information and challenge, as they are instructed by experienced and dedicated past officers. Additional district meetings – Assembly, Conference, Membership Development and RI Foundation seminars – offer additional learning opportunities. Many clubs make it possible for the PE to attend a convention of Rotary International. The benefits of that world-view of Rotary are beyond description. There is so much to be learned about Rotary! A President-Elect needs to learn not only about the local club, but about the multiple international programs of RI. The Rotary website contains detail worthy of many hours of exploration. Group Study Exchange, Peace Scholars, and PolioPlus are just a beginning. Attendance and dues expectations, public relations guides, and reporting forms are just a few of the practical helps. And club organization information provides definitions and ideas for committee efficiency. Presidents-Elect should be included in attendance at Club Board meetings, observing and learning Rotary procedures as well as ongoing club programs and projects. By observing the work of directors and committee chairs, they gain a broad perspective of what they will oversee in the coming year. July 1 is when a new Rotary President takes office. But it is also the beginning of a year of preparation for the President-Elect. How that year is spent will identify the level of excellence the PE will attain in the presidential year to follow. The successful presidency of a Rotary Club does not begin with the President, but with the President-Elect. And the secret is in preparation. Presidents-Elect, start now to be "Prepared to Serve." |
| RGHF Committee Editorial Writer Frank Deaver, 23 August 2007 |