President's Priorities
Posted by Sandi McDonough
Tom Myers President 2009-2010
New Board Members
President Elect: Sandi McDonough
Secretary: Chuck Osborn
Treasurer: Fred Storek
Club Service: Cheryl Moller
Foundation Chair: Anita Louis Grossman
Youth Service: Judy Hannemann
Community Service: Kim Castro
International Service: Bert Raphael
Finemaster: Alicia Crank
First let me tell you how humbled I am that you selected me to be your president. To join the ranks of those who have served in this position over the 80 plus year history of the Mountain View Rotary is indeed an honor.
I came to Rotary in the spring of 2003. Curtis Church and Judy Hannemann had been twisting my arm to come to this great organization. "I don't have time," I said. Judy finally dragged me over here. The meetings were only a couple of blocks from my office, so there was really no excuse.
And besides, Rotary is an organization that appeals to me greatly. Rotary International is one of the preeminent service organizations in the world. As Rotarians, we should be justifiably proud of our work making the planet a better place. And the importance of Rotary and our work is recognized internationally.
This was evident to me while attending the Rotary Convention in Birmingham. The convention was opened by Bahn Kyi Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations. Keynote speakers included Jane Goodall discussing her environmental work, Mia Farrow discussing her efforts on behalf of the people of Darfur, and one of my personal heroes, Archbishop Desmond Tutu discussing the need for equality, justice and peace.
It is quite possible that within the next two years, we Rotarians will be hugely responsible for wiping polio off the planet. This Mountain View club is responsible for many wheelchairs in Mexico, clean drinking water in India and school supplies in China. Not to mention the tens of thousands of dollars put into our local social service organizations to make Mountain View itself a better community.
This is a legacy that you and I represent with pride.
As we move forward, I want you to know some of my priorities for the year.
I am not the kind of person who wants to come in and change things and make waves. That's not how I work. I don't like to rock the boat, I prefer to steer it. Therefore, my first goal is to work with you to build concensus among all club members as to what our priorities should be and how we progress. Despite my jokes about the "reign of terror" beginning, the reality is that I am no dictator, and I see us as clubmembers, as a team.
Related to the idea of building concensus, we started a strategic planning process last year. It's very easy to do a strategic plan, put it on a shelf someplace, and forget it. I don't want that to happen. I will be calling on the experience of past presidents, as well as other members, to make sure we continue to progress with that project.
Second, we need to concentrate on membership. All service clubs are experiencing membership losses. How do we counterbalance that? We need to look at our image, our requirement, our marketing to see what we can do to change that.
One thing that makes us appealing as a club is when we are relevant. By doing important community work, and getting noticed for it, we will be seen as an important player in the community and an organization to be a part of.
Third, we need to look at ways we can improve our fundraising. We spend so much time and energy trying to divvy up the money we raise each year. It would be so much easier, and we would have a greater impact in the community if we could raise more money. This is no easy task. And with the economy the way that it is, it may not be doable. But the idea of looking at how we may be able to raise more money and do more with it is very appealing.
Related to this, my fourth goal, is to engage in more hands-on community service projects. Nothing builds morale or has a greater community impact than Rotarians working together on a community building project.
Finally, my fifth goal is to make sure we have fun. My motto has always been that if you aren't having fun, then why are you doing it? I really believe that while we are doing the work of Rotary, we also need to be having fun doing it.
We are a diverse bunch. But overall, we are all here despite our differences. Because we have much more that binds us together. We all share a common allegiance to Rotary and its mission of service. As I said at the beginning, it is an extraordinary organization. It is making the world a better place every day. And you and me, we're part of that.
Together we're improving the world. Together we're improving our local community. And together, we're building our fellowship and improving our club.
I look forward to working with each of you. Thank you very much.
President Elect: Sandi McDonough
Secretary: Chuck Osborn
Treasurer: Fred Storek
Club Service: Cheryl Moller
Foundation Chair: Anita Louis Grossman
Youth Service: Judy Hannemann
Community Service: Kim Castro
International Service: Bert Raphael
Finemaster: Alicia Crank
First let me tell you how humbled I am that you selected me to be your president. To join the ranks of those who have served in this position over the 80 plus year history of the Mountain View Rotary is indeed an honor.
I came to Rotary in the spring of 2003. Curtis Church and Judy Hannemann had been twisting my arm to come to this great organization. "I don't have time," I said. Judy finally dragged me over here. The meetings were only a couple of blocks from my office, so there was really no excuse.
And besides, Rotary is an organization that appeals to me greatly. Rotary International is one of the preeminent service organizations in the world. As Rotarians, we should be justifiably proud of our work making the planet a better place. And the importance of Rotary and our work is recognized internationally.
This was evident to me while attending the Rotary Convention in Birmingham. The convention was opened by Bahn Kyi Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations. Keynote speakers included Jane Goodall discussing her environmental work, Mia Farrow discussing her efforts on behalf of the people of Darfur, and one of my personal heroes, Archbishop Desmond Tutu discussing the need for equality, justice and peace.
It is quite possible that within the next two years, we Rotarians will be hugely responsible for wiping polio off the planet. This Mountain View club is responsible for many wheelchairs in Mexico, clean drinking water in India and school supplies in China. Not to mention the tens of thousands of dollars put into our local social service organizations to make Mountain View itself a better community.
This is a legacy that you and I represent with pride.
As we move forward, I want you to know some of my priorities for the year.
I am not the kind of person who wants to come in and change things and make waves. That's not how I work. I don't like to rock the boat, I prefer to steer it. Therefore, my first goal is to work with you to build concensus among all club members as to what our priorities should be and how we progress. Despite my jokes about the "reign of terror" beginning, the reality is that I am no dictator, and I see us as clubmembers, as a team.
Related to the idea of building concensus, we started a strategic planning process last year. It's very easy to do a strategic plan, put it on a shelf someplace, and forget it. I don't want that to happen. I will be calling on the experience of past presidents, as well as other members, to make sure we continue to progress with that project.
Second, we need to concentrate on membership. All service clubs are experiencing membership losses. How do we counterbalance that? We need to look at our image, our requirement, our marketing to see what we can do to change that.
One thing that makes us appealing as a club is when we are relevant. By doing important community work, and getting noticed for it, we will be seen as an important player in the community and an organization to be a part of.
Third, we need to look at ways we can improve our fundraising. We spend so much time and energy trying to divvy up the money we raise each year. It would be so much easier, and we would have a greater impact in the community if we could raise more money. This is no easy task. And with the economy the way that it is, it may not be doable. But the idea of looking at how we may be able to raise more money and do more with it is very appealing.
Related to this, my fourth goal, is to engage in more hands-on community service projects. Nothing builds morale or has a greater community impact than Rotarians working together on a community building project.
Finally, my fifth goal is to make sure we have fun. My motto has always been that if you aren't having fun, then why are you doing it? I really believe that while we are doing the work of Rotary, we also need to be having fun doing it.
We are a diverse bunch. But overall, we are all here despite our differences. Because we have much more that binds us together. We all share a common allegiance to Rotary and its mission of service. As I said at the beginning, it is an extraordinary organization. It is making the world a better place every day. And you and me, we're part of that.
Together we're improving the world. Together we're improving our local community. And together, we're building our fellowship and improving our club.
I look forward to working with each of you. Thank you very much.