Assembly - Final Reflections

Our new Rotary theme for 2011-2011 Building Communities: Bridging Continents aptly reflects who we are as Rotarians...we are a unique. We build the spirit and resources of our local communities in important ways, which is beautifully summarized by a PDG from Missouri. "When a positive spirit comes alive in our clubs, we inspire our communities. And when our communities are inspired by our service and presence, we inspire new members."Most agree that Rotary is the best in the world at Building Communities and linking people of goodwill around the globe and then gaining their cooperation and support to make the world a better place.

Wayne and I look forward to sharing more of our stories at the upcoming District Leadership Training events as well as our visits to clubs.

Assembly - a Celebration of Nations

This assembly was an opportunity to celebrate our unique cultures and traditions.
The Canadian delegates made quite a splash in their hockey jerseys and Olympic mits at the International Dinner. A spectacular and colourful affair featuring the costumes from around the world. Our RI President Elect Ray was in his cowboy gear...great music and fun.

Assembly - Group Study Exchange

DGE's had the pleasure of meeting with our GSE partners. District 5370 will exchange with District 9650 in New South Wales, Australia. DGE Jo Wilkin's team will travel to D5370 in May-June 2011 and the D5370 GSE team will travel to Australia in March 2011.

Assembly - Polio Eradication

What a great time to be a Rotarian as we watch our success in the efforts to eradicate Polio.

Assembly - New Generations Mandate

We were reminded that the some of the best membership recruitment and development strategies in Rotary are available NOW!

Assembly Highlight - New Social Media

President Elect Ray challenged us to review some of our practices and look for new and creative ways of engaging our members and attracting new members, especially young professionals. He recommended the book "What Got You Here...". We heard a great deal about opportunities provided to us through new social media. Delegates were asked to bring out their handheld phones and text a donation to Haiti disaster relief efforts. The new publication Rotary Leader also came to us instantly after the announcement was made.

RI Assembly - highlights

The RI Assembly week in San Diego was truly magical and rewarding...before we get to embroiled in the complexities of the work ahead, I do want to share some images and highlights of this rich Rotary International experience.

Throughout the week my 540 DGE classmates were challenged to look at Rotary's Future in our Second Century of Service as BIGGER BETTER BOLDER. We were challenged and encourage to DREAM.

RI Assembly - Day one

Theme for 2010-2011 shared with all 530 District Governors-Elect,
Building Communities; Bridging Continents The theme is intended to convey our purpose in Rotary to non-Rotarians and help us build pride in Rotary membership. A truly inspiring speech...

Follow this link for complete story - http://www.rotary.org/en/MediaAndNews/News/Pages/100118_IA10_theme.aspx

Off to the Rotary International Assembly

Our bags are packed for San Diego and we look forward to the Rotary International Assembly and meeting fellow Rotarians from around the world. We are leaving our dog Lana, but we are bringing with us our dreams for making Rotary in District 5370 Bigger! Better! Bolder! We will surely be inspired and open to new possibilities over the coming week.

Last night the CNN captions read "text donations reach $8M for Haiti", "Social networks fuel Haiti donations". I guess you know where I am going with this one...could we in D5370 integrates some of the powerful new social networking tools into our work as we endeavor to recruit and develop our members, grow the Foundation and support clubs?

The opportunities to grow Rotary through the New Generations Mandate are exciting. There is work for every Rotarian in raising our next generation of citizens - let's get involved with our schools! The future of Rotary is in our hands.

Wayne and I look forward to sharing our Rotary journey and insights as we travel over the next 18 months. We will post regular updates on this blog - we do want to hear from you as well.

www.twitter.com/RotaryJackie