Emmett Rotary – Do We Have Anything Worth Reporting Right Now? YES WE DO!
Emmett Rotary – Do We Have Anything Worth Reporting Right Now? YES WE DO!
I received an email yesterday letting me know that time was running out to submit our club’s achievements for the District Bulletin. I read it and thought to myself that we haven’t really done much that seemed outstanding in this last month, other than transitioning into a new leadership team (as we all are) and my club hasn’t thrown me out of office…yet. 😉 So, I placed it on the back burner and set a goal to have something to report for next month.
A friend and fellow Rotarian happened to forward that same email to me just a few hours later, in case I hadn’t seen it yet. I thanked him and told him, “…unfortunately, I can’t find much of anything to add on our behalf at the moment. If you can think of anything, PLEASE feel free to submit it! This is kind of our take-a-moment-to-breathe-and-adjust-after-a-VERY-BUSY-SPRING-season, if you know what I mean. 😉 Or, if you have an idea pitch it to me and I’ll see what I can come up with”. I dismissed the District Bulletin email…again.
Can you guess what happened next? This call to action just would not go away! This dear friend and very wise man was up with the cows the next morning and sent a response that made me stop and rethink everything. He wrote, “I think one of our best achievements is the attitude of our club. Look at the ‘Service Above Self’ awards that Kathy passed out. Our club’s foundation just put $50K into the Idaho Community Foundation. To me, that was a big WOW. Membership...what a success story we have to tell – we are a vibrant club where membership growth comes from our community achievements. Interact…now that’s a story worth telling. That group of kids is on the run and we have a wonderful leader in Staci. And, finally, we just passed out a handful of Paul Harris pins +1 achievements. All of the above means our individual members are giving time, dollars, and talent to grow Rotary in Emmett – helping meet the needs of our community…just some thoughts…”.
My initial thought was of course we did all of that, and even more that wasn’t listed, but that’s just what we always do, right? What’s so special about that? And then I looked at it all through his lens and gained an insight that was staring me in the face the whole time.
You see, I was in the middle of trying to fill out the “Brag Report” that DG Rich Kirkham wants all of the presidents to fill out before he makes his club visit, and I was struggling a bit. As luck would have it, here were so many of my answers, through the eyes of a Past District Governor.
Yes indeed, our club’s attitude is absolutely amazing! We are a family, by choice, and that’s pretty special no matter how you look at it! Service Above Self isn’t just a motto in our club, it’s a way of life. And the $50K that we invested isn’t even close to all that we’ve earned (and donated) over the last few years from our Youth Benefit Dinner & Auction. We’re just one club, and one small community, bringing in the ‘big bucks’ to help support our local kids. Our Interact club is indeed a dynamic group of kids doing good in the world every step of the way! As for Paul Harris Fellows, we are literally just some paperwork away from being a repeat 100% PHF Club (currently with 10 newer members who are on their way, 18 members at PHF, 12 members at +1, 1 member at +2, 2 members at +3, and 1 member now at a whopping +6. And I know with absolute certainty that these numbers are only going to increase over this next year!).
At first glance, I only saw that our club was just doing what it always does…supporting our community and supporting each other. And I still see that. If there’s something that needs to be done, we do it, while having as much FUN as possible. This club is a group of ultimate-warrior-achievers who are in it for the greater good. And if this is our ‘normal’, I’m okay with that, too. These are my ‘people’, my family by choice, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Lisa Vetter, President (with wisdom from PDG Terry Jones)
Emmett Rotary: We ARE Family