District Conference 2025: That’s a Wrap!

Home Page | Rotary District 7090District Conference 2025: That’s a Wrap! 
This is a summary note of our District Conference 2025 held on Saturday, April 5th. I am preparing a more detailed report and hope to share this with all District Rotarians in a few weeks. If you took notes and want to add your voice to this report you are welcome to send me any reflections, did well/do better, ideas, etc. to econiagara@gmail.com (with District Conference 2025 in the subject line). Also anticipated will be photos, videos, slides, etc. as a resource. This will include some technical issues regarding the conference and serve as advice for the crews in the future when working on a major event like this. Look for this notice in your inbox. I hope we can continue to apply the lessons from this event going forward. 
I hope you were as inspired as I was. In follow up here are a few avenues you can pursue:
- Tell your story. If you haven’t told a story about your club, scribe something up and get it into the District newsletter. Better yet, work with a friend to get a note done on a regular basis. Ensure you are using your social media channels. 
- At your club, find the time to thank people who were on the conference organizing team. I can’t thank them enough!
- Seeking peace is always a timeless and good thing.
In the meantime, I hope you are discussing any findings from the conference, whether you were there or not. We had a fantastic turnout and many clubs were represented. We bookended the experience with a great party on Friday night for our Best of Friends Heritage Endowment Fund and a cool afterparty with music trivia, bocce, and corn hole. The Friday party was at the Legion Hall in Chippewa (just south of the Falls). The big feature was Karaoke, and a few fun games and prizes supported the good cheer. Thanks to Foundation Chair Lisa Bishop and her organizing crew. 
 
The concept of the conference was to bring Rotarians and non-Rotarians together to discuss community volunteering issues common to all of us as well as explore the magic of partnerships - Working Together Works Better. I think we checked that box. I hope people got a few fresh ideas out of our speakers, met new friends with all the interactivity, caught up with old friends, and that the whole experience was well worth the trip. We had a mini-trade show that featured a number of community projects and initiatives, a workshop on ClubRunner, and an extensive session for our youth participants. 
 
As part of "paying it forward", please spend a few minutes at your upcoming Rotary meetings to revisit what you learned from the conference, how the ideas apply to you, and any new momentum your club has gained from the experience. 
 
While those at the conference may have other observations, the three key action-oriented takeaways for me are the following: 
  1. Fostering connections with other service clubs and key organizations in your community is a meaningful pursuit. A whole host of benefits come from doing this including people who want to work with the group in the lead. For example, the Rotary Club of Grand Island did this last Wednesday night as together with other service clubs they hosted two speakers on preventing human trafficking. Great information and awareness on a shocking and important issue and it is a step in being able to respond, support, and solve issues.
  2. Leading into the conference I noted in my column last month this Friends of Rotary concept and I saw many related ideas at the conference. We heard messages related to professional development when you open up your network and invite people in. Depending on the platform you can optimize how search engines find you, make direct asks, and use LinkedIn to directly invite people to your work (and fun). 
  3. There seemed to me the real possibility of paying this forward. If you and your club want to do a local version of the conference - or just one part of it - then by all means, go ahead. For example, work with your local community to put on your own version of the trade show or get service clubs together to discuss a deep impact project where you pool your resources. Those organizations that set up a booth were very thankful that they had that space for free.
 
A few other nuggets from my notes:
  • Visit other clubs. Work with people doing the same initiatives as you to improve your work, or go and learn of new ideas, and if it is across the border, appreciate this value in our Best of Friends District. Twin your club with another and share ideas. 
  • Isn’t it interesting in how food cuts across many sectors and cultures? I really liked the master gardener model and how community gardening forms the basis for a conversation. Related to this is the importance of having a few measurements of your impact like volunteer hours – so that you can remind people of the value of your efforts. 
  • Integrating your programs with others and across volunteer networks benefits your community. Distinguishing what unique value your club brings to this group is important. This includes doing the fundraising to support and start projects, but also this and other project work has real value in skill development, especially for those that see these are an opportunity to get a better job, enhance capacity, make connections, and feel more connected to the substantive issues in the community. 
  • I really like the not new idea of building social capital, finding people who are starved for activity, and joining because somebody just asked. Use the Join or Die film as an opportunity to do a community screening and then discuss what can be done. 
  • In a way, service above self is the business of building public trust - the authenticity of helping others and creating meaningful impact with every occasion. We heard the idea of minga - the cooperative work in care of each other. It would be so interesting to import these kinds of words from other languages and cultures to add to the vibrancy of our own experience. 
  • Ask your (other) community leaders - county, city, or region - if there is a community impact report. Something that tells you about the issues in your area. Invite those connected with this report (or service) to a club meeting and conversations. Pick an issue and own it. Identify a problem and solve it. Fund a need…and sustain it. 
  • In regard to funding, especially with some community partners, is there a donor match program?
  • Tangible benefits are made when you focus on outcomes over outputs. 
  • Leverage the skills of others. 
  • We need to be in the business of developing quality volunteers.
  • We are a convening organization, and we are stronger together when we have an alignment of purpose. 
  • There are many eLearning courses and experiences out there. How do we complete this opportunity by providing interesting ways to burnish these skills. 
  • As the volunteer community changes in our area, many groups are rethinking their commitments. This change and challenge presents an opportunity. Adversity is a terrible thing to waste!
  • Find those people in your community who get s*!t done! Those mothers and grandmothers, or that local business leader.