Greetings fellow Rotarians from my hometown of Fonthill, Ontario. On Saturday, June 27th I was honoured to be sworn in by IPDG Bob Artis as your District Governor for 2020-2021 at our District’s first virtual Changeover event. It is indeed an honour and privilege to serve you over the next year, a year where “Rotary Opens Opportunities”, R I President Holger Knaack’s fitting theme for the times we are in.
Congratulations and best wishes to our new and returning District 7090 officers, assistant governors, presidents, and club officers.
I would like to acknowledge the “Service above Self” IPDG Bob Artis for his leadership, guidance, and mentorship for me over the past year. I look forward to working with the new DG chain - DGE Anne Bermingham, DGN Lisa Bishop, and Vice Governor PDG Melisa Schrock, as we plan out the next three years.
I believe that most of us have pivoted well in how we meet and communicate during this trying time. The Zoom platform has been embraced by most clubs and has been a Godsend for us. I believe that many of us will continue to use this medium when COVID -19 is behind us. Many are discovering that we can meet virtually and still set and meet goals. As noted in my last post to the newsletter ALL of my Official Club Visits will be via Zoom and I plan to complete these by September. I’m asking club presidents or secretaries to contact me for a date and time to meet.
Most of us have had to cancel significant fundraisers and we will all have to be creative moving forward. In this regard, a significant sum of money can be raised for worthwhile endeavours by redirecting money previously spent on club meals, which in most cases amounts to $500 - $1,000 per year, per member. Some clubs have asked their members to consider using a portion of this money to support local or global initiatives.
Under the leadership of PDG Melisa Schrock and DGE Anne Bermingham we have a revised District 7090 Strategic Plan, which I am using to set my goals as your District Governor. A major strategy, which has been added, pertains to The Rotary Foundation. Foundation giving in our District is at an all-time low and I would ask all of you to consider a donation to our charity, The Rotary Foundation. In my year I will continue to encourage every Rotarian in our District to make a personal contribution. Donations to the Annual Fund have dropped from a high of $300,000 in 2016-17 to $190,000 in 2019-20. (Membership has declined by 257 members to the end of June 2020 and may well be significantly lower as we start 2020-2021). These are the funds that we use to support District Grants and Global Grants, as well as District Scholarships, Polio, Vocational Training Teams, Student Scholarship, and Peace Fellow Education grants. Last year 10 of our clubs made NO contribution to the Annual Fund and 19 did not support the End Polio Fund. Pat Castiglia, in her new role as Foundation Director, and her team need your support to turn this around. We would be happy to work with you and your club in this regard. There are opportunities to make major contributions as a Major Donor, Bequest Society member Paul Harris Society member, or Benefactor. Pat and her team will be reaching out to offer virtual presentations at one of your upcoming meetings.
I am asking for your consideration and support of a major fundraiser, “Pedal for Polio” to be held in October and am hopeful that each club will help by finding a cyclist(s) to ride on your club’s behalf for pledges for this cause. Over the past few years RI Secretary General, John Hewko has been leading an international team in Miles to End Polio in Tucson, Arizona and last year 100 Rotarian cyclists raised $6 million. If all 2,000 District 7090 members pledged $50 and found one personal friend, family member, or colleague to pledge another $50 we could raise $200,000. With the Bill and Melinda Gate’s 2:1 match we would raise $600,000! If you would like to help me plan for this fundraiser please let me know. Your feedback is encouraged and welcomed.
Over the coming months, I will be challenging all of you to help us grow and prosper, as members, as clubs, as s district. Together we can Open Opportunities and be the best that we can be.
10 Best Practices to Make our Meetings and Email Communications Effective
Context:
In these crazy times, communication is so very important. We need clear messages. We need things that don’t overwhelm us. We need effective meetings as our energy can wane - especially when our world is mainly virtual. While always important (even in the best of times), we are using this moment in time to launch Practical Best Practices for Rotary District 7090 when it comes to meeting and email etiquette.
On Meetings:
Every meeting (even with just 2-3 people attending) needs to have some written objectives and an accompanying agenda. The objectives should clearly answer what it is that we want to accomplish by the end of the meeting.
Each item should clearly denote if it is “for your action”, “for your information”, “for your input” or “for your decision”. If it is “for your input” or “decision” - the question should be stated clearly. Perhaps you are not looking for input to all elements of the report but you do want input on “what obstacles might we encounter if we try to implement this new program in July?”
An effective meeting should have the vast majority of items as “for your input” or “for your approval”. People just coming together to share reports and updates is not an optimum use of people’s time.
One person needs to be appointed to capture the decisions and actions agreed upon coming out of the meeting. This should be circulated within 24 hours of the meeting ending. When meeting virtually, these can be captured in real-time and shared on the screen at the end of the meeting. Two additional categories you might consider beyond decisions made and agreed upon actions would be a list of items “for future consideration” and “notes” - other for your info items that should be captured for all to read.
On Emails:
Emails are for sharing information or exchanging documents. It was not designed to be used as a way to problem-solve. If the email is starting to get passed around and around with different ideas being written on each email, it is time to pick up the phone or call a meeting.
The only people who are expected to do anything upon receipt of the email are those in the TO line. Ideally, the task you ask each person to do should be clearly noted in the text as well - using their name and noting their task. If you are in the cc line - you are not expected to take any action.
Minimize those in the cc line. It is best to keep those people to a limit. Have a clear rationale as to why you are including them in the cc line. Use the 4-way test - “is it fair to all concerned” and “does it build goodwill and better friendships”. Minimize the number of times that you use the “reply all” function.
Subject lines are critical - it should convey the key message and type of response needed - e.g. for your information or for your input. Deadlines should be in the Subject: line as well.
If you are forwarding an email and adding another twist to the message, then edit the subject line. The subject line should always communicate the intent of the message to those in the TO: line.
There really are very few reasons, in the world of Rotary, to use the bcc line. It does not typically line up with the four-way test for it is often “not fair to all concerned”. It is not fair to the person on the bcc line who has to pretend they don’t know this information. It is not fair to the people in the TO line as they think the message is confidential when it is not.
Greetings fellow Rotarians from my hometown of Fonthill, Ontario. On Saturday, June 27th I was honoured to be sworn in by IPDG Bob Artis as your District Governor for 2020-2021 at our District’s first virtual Changeover event. It is indeed an honour and privilege to serve you over the next year, a year where “Rotary Opens Opportunities”, R I President Holger Knaack’s fitting theme for the times we are in.
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