Capay Valley Rotary - Presidents Message Archives

When I began my President-Elect Training Seminar experience, I was expecting a bunch of “rah-rah” to pump up all of us new President-Elects. And although there were plenty of motivational aspects, I actually learned more about Rotary in a 3 day period than I had ever been exposed to in the past 20 plus years. I decided right then and there that my first goal would be that our club would become an informed club. That I wanted our members to act out of compassion and not out of obligation. I knew in my heart of hearts that if you, my friends, were duly informed on the Object of Rotary, you would truly understand what it means to belong to the most prestigious service organization in the World and exactly what Rotarians are capable of accomplishing.

The Object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and foster:

· The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service;

· High ethical standards in business and professions, the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations, and the dignifying of each Rotarian’s occupation as an opportunity to serve society;

· The application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian’s personal, business, and community life; and

· The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.

My charge for the year is to lead by example, encouraging all of you to familiarize yourself with the Object of Rotary, for you belong to the greatest service organization on Earth. Why is Rotary International the greatest of all service organizations? Because of “how” we do things. In no other charitable organization can you donate money, yet have a say in how that money will be spent. Through your generosity, each and every one of you has the ability to make a difference, not only in your own backyard but also across the globe. Every dollar that is paid to the Foundation is invested for three years. Only those earnings from those investments, support the administrative costs of Rotary. After 3 years, 50% of your contributions fund global programs, while the remaining 50% is returned to our District, for our own use, and in our own local communities. Every single dollar we contribute is spent on a cause, while not one single cent goes for administrative costs. We are the model for the rest of the World. They look to us as an example. Building Communities, Bridging Continents begins at home. Our home… With our Rotary family.

The mission of The Rotary Foundation is to enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty.

There are many different levels of support you can contribute to The Rotary Foundation. The first level is a Sustaining Membership, which requires a donation of only $100 per year. The second level is that of Double Sustaining Membership, or $200 per year. The third level of support is Super Sustaining Membership, requiring $500 per year and finally the fourth level of support is that of being a member of the Paul Harris Society, which requires a donation of $1,000 per year or only $83.33 per month, which can be taken directly out of your checking account or charged to your credit card on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis. My second goal is that every member becomes at least a Sustaining Member, for through such memberships, Polio has basically been eliminated from the face of the Earth.

My third goal is for our Club to grow, by implementing the 5:1 Plan, so we may better serve our community. The 5:1 Plan is where we gather in groups of 5 and the goal for each established group is to obtain at least one new member, every six months. This will yield at least 10 new members the very first year. Through Charter President Chandler’s leadership we accomplished the funding of our first project with only 25 Charter Members. Think of the possibilities of what we can accomplish with 35 members.

Stating that, “We are the best Rotary Club, West of 505” and BEING the best Rotary Club, West of 505 can be two different things. I am only one person and I certainly can’t achieve these goals by myself. I need the help of each and every one of you. If we want to be the best Rotary Club, West of 505, then it is up to us to make it happen.

To assist with this happening, I would like to now introduce you to your new Board:

· Anna Del Castillo, your new President-Elect,

· Bob Haywood, your new Vice-President,

· Bonnie Stormont, your new Secretary,

· John Hulsman, Jr., your new Treasurer,

· Bill and Shirlee Hailey, your new Sergeant of Arms,

· Director Sue Heitman,

· Director Tom Lopez,

· Director Larry Rolston, and

· Director Rigo Torres.

And your new Committee Chairs are:

· Rita Moore, Chairing Club Administration,

· Sue Heitman, Chairing Public Relations,

· Bonnie Stormont, Chairing Membership,

· Bill and Shirlee Hailey, Chairing Rotary Foundation,

· Tom Lopez, Chairing Service Projects, and

· Howard Plank, Historian and Editor.

My fourth and final goal is to meet with each and every one of you, over the next couple of months. Please give some thought to what you want out of this club. What would you like to see us accomplish? What is your vision for the future? Keep in mind that this is our club and Rotary International has realized that the power is in the clubs themselves, implementing a management style from the bottom up. Your thoughts, your views and your participation will successfully navigate our club into the future, with us at the helm.

One of my all time favorite songs is Josh Groban’s, “You Raise Me Up”. In it, he sings:

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;

You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;

I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;

You raise me up… To more than I can be.

This is my duty to you, To raise you up… To more than you can be.

My personal promise to all of you is to leave this club twice as good as I found it, and Anna, as next year’s President, when you take over this club in one year’s time, your charge will be the exact same thing; to leave this club twice as good as you find it.

Thank you and remember that this is your club, so make things happen and most importantly, have fun!

Patrick Scribner

Capay Valley Rotary-Brooks, President