PRESIDENTS MESSAGE

Fellow Rotarians,

I can't believe how much e-mail I get every day that has something to do with Rotary.  If I didn't know better, it seems like this is my profession instead of what I actually do.

One of the latest e-mails came from Lee Harmon, our Assistant District Governor who over see's our club along with Arlington , Lake Stevens-Granite Falls and the two Marysville clubs.  Lee attended the membership seminar last weekend in Marysville and although it was local to our area, he was heavily outnumbered by Rotarians who drove down from Canada . In fact, he was one of only three who attended form the US . 

During the seminar, each participant did a self-evaluation of their home club. The evaluation had sections for club administration, membership, The Rotary Foundation,  service projects, publicity & public relations plus a few "bonus" points.  ADG Lee is a member of the Arlington Rotary Club and if any of you have visited Arlington , they are a pretty active club with good leadership and a long and strong history.  However, when Lee added up his points, he found that his club fell down in the lower regions of the point system, in fact each of the three US clubs fell at the absolute BOTTOM of all of the clubs that were in attendance. Not only were they at the bottom, but they were SIGNIFICANTLY at the bottom.

For those of you who have attended Rotary functions, I can tell you with great certainty that Canadians love their Rotary. They have a lust for it that I rarely see from anyone south of the border.  Why was that so? Why are our neighbors so fired up and we are so calm and casual about Rotary. Are we too busy to get fired up? Do we ask too much of our members and create burn-out, or are we asking too little of our members? How do we motivate each other to get the most out of Rotary?  Personally, while this is by far my busiest year, it is also the most rewarding that I have had in my fifteen years.

For those of you who care, please share your thoughts and ideas with me. I will be talking with ADG Lee soon and want to pass on your comments.

Make Dreams Real.

Jim

Jim Jonson

President