On Saturday I attended a Rotary district training conference here in Concepcion. The meeting was attended by about 40 Rotarians, including my host counselor, Cecilia and her husband, Gonzalo. Cecilia is an assistant governor this year. The governor-elect made some opening remarks and covered this year´s Rotary theme, The Future of Rotary is in your Hands. After introductions of various new leadership posts, I was also introduced. I had the opportunity to say a few words about myself, my studies and my sponsor district.
Afterwards, we broke into small groups with the assignment to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the district and what strategies Rotarians could use to better the district. The Rotarians listed their strengths as geographic proximity of the district (easy to travel to different cities within the district), strong female membership, established clubs with experience and contacts, and diversity of professions reflected in the membership. For weaknesses, the Rotarians stated they have many members who are leaders in the workplace but do not take on leadership roles within Rotary, lack of youth outreach and programming (Interact-for high school students/Rotaract-for young professional 18-30), and lack of significant community awareness of Rotary projects and goals.
It was fascinating to learn about what this Rotary district is facing and within that hoping to find ways I can be of assistance in their efforts. Next week I am going to an inauguration of a Rotaract club in Los Angeles, a city about an hour from Concepcion. I´m excited to meet the Rotaracters and see what their goals are for the near future
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