WEBVTT 00:00:00.514 --> 00:00:07.312 - Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to our weekly celebration of service. Once again, a very lively 00:00:07.312 --> 00:00:14.178 - crowd in here. My name is Tracy Yovanovich, and I'm honored to serve as your president. Please silence 00:00:14.178 --> 00:00:20.909 - your electronic devices. And in honor of Columbus and Indigenous Day, please stand for the Pledge of 00:00:20.909 --> 00:00:27.575 - Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for 00:00:27.575 --> 00:00:30.174 - which it stands, one nation under God, 00:00:30.434 --> 00:00:38.195 - indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. All right, thank you. And with that, if you could put 00:00:38.195 --> 00:00:45.956 - the slides up. In the spirit of where in the world is Rotary, we will continue. And today I selected 00:00:45.956 --> 00:00:53.871 - Maputo Mozambique. I don't know if you all read in the magazine. It was the first page, I think, first 00:00:53.871 --> 00:00:57.022 - two pages. It has a highlight on Maputo. 00:00:57.314 --> 00:01:03.280 - And the reason I picked this is because we went there as part of our cruise and it's a beautiful country. 00:01:03.280 --> 00:01:08.964 - It's on the ocean and it has the most interesting flag. As you can see here, it is the only flag and 00:01:08.964 --> 00:01:14.986 - I have to get my notes here because I researched this. So there's a lovely article in the Rotary magazine, 00:01:14.986 --> 00:01:19.038 - but I'm going to talk about the flag because it's so bizarre to me. So. 00:01:19.714 --> 00:01:26.001 - The AK-47 with a bayonet attached is the only national flag that features a modern firearm. So we pull 00:01:26.001 --> 00:01:32.166 - into this country and here I see this flag. I'm like, are we supposed to be here? But the scenery is 00:01:32.166 --> 00:01:38.271 - beautiful. The people are lovely. The spice market and fruit market, everything was fabulous, but I 00:01:38.271 --> 00:01:44.619 - could not get over the flag. So when I saw it in the rotary magazine, I said, okay, I'm going to figure 00:01:44.619 --> 00:01:46.206 - out what's going on here. 00:01:46.434 --> 00:01:52.777 - The gun is not mentioned in the Constitution, but all other aspects of the flag are clearly defined 00:01:52.777 --> 00:01:59.248 - in their Constitution. It is to this day a controversial topic within the country, as some believe it 00:01:59.248 --> 00:02:06.162 - is viewed as an allusion to violence. Can you imagine? Mozambique gained independence in 1974 from Portugal, 00:02:06.162 --> 00:02:13.013 - and the Mozambique Liberation Front supporters argued that the AK-47 is a symbol of the Mozambican people's 00:02:13.013 --> 00:02:15.550 - determination to protect their country. 00:02:16.194 --> 00:02:22.706 - So that's kind of the argument. Some people believe it shows that they protect. Others don't agree. 00:02:22.706 --> 00:02:29.218 - They actually voted on it in 2005, and the change was rejected. Parliament critique given was, as a 00:02:29.218 --> 00:02:35.795 - peaceful country, you can't have a flag with a gun on it. For children growing up now in peace, they 00:02:35.795 --> 00:02:42.046 - see a flag with a gun on it, and it doesn't make sense. So I just thought that was interesting. 00:02:42.046 --> 00:02:45.758 - And again, it's a great big world. Rotary is everywhere. 00:02:47.138 --> 00:02:57.141 - Why, Alon, please, on the mic, on the mic. Oh, he's pointing out South Africa, where he is from. Birthplace 00:02:57.141 --> 00:03:06.589 - of Alon. So there you go. It doesn't get any better. And with that, Randy Saunders, if you could come 00:03:06.589 --> 00:03:09.182 - up and give the reflection. 00:03:17.954 --> 00:03:23.666 - If only I'd known I'd have to follow a flag with a gun on it, I would have come up with a different 00:03:23.666 --> 00:03:29.378 - topic today. Okay, I'd like to share a reflection about my favorite time of the year. Autumn is the 00:03:29.378 --> 00:03:35.262 - cool transition season between summer and winter and begins with the autumn equinox in late September. 00:03:35.262 --> 00:03:41.203 - So we're there. So why do seasons change? Well, the Earth's tilt, the Earth's predominantly tilted axis 00:03:41.203 --> 00:03:47.486 - as it orbits the sun causes different hemispheres to receive varying amounts of sunlight throughout the year. 00:03:48.482 --> 00:03:54.661 - So this time of year during the fall equinox, we start out with equal day and night light. And then, 00:03:54.661 --> 00:04:00.901 - of course, as the season moves further towards winter, it becomes where we have more darkness than we 00:04:00.901 --> 00:04:07.447 - do daylight, which means shorter days, cooler temperatures. So what else happens in autumn, scientifically 00:04:07.447 --> 00:04:13.932 - speaking? Leaf colors change. Trees stop producing chlorophyll, allowing hidden pigments like cardanoids, 00:04:13.932 --> 00:04:18.398 - which are yellow and orange, and anthocyanins, which are red and purple, 00:04:18.690 --> 00:04:25.028 - show. I gotta tell you in my second fall here from California, I'm really loving the fall color season. 00:04:25.028 --> 00:04:31.183 - You don't get a lot of fall colors in California. The leaves fall, and I didn't know this, but trees 00:04:31.183 --> 00:04:37.522 - shed their leaves to conserve water during the cold months ahead. I learned something every day, right? 00:04:37.522 --> 00:04:43.616 - Animal behavior. Many animals gather and store food while others prepare to hibernate or migrate to 00:04:43.616 --> 00:04:46.846 - warmer climates. And of course, it's a harvest time. 00:04:47.138 --> 00:04:53.944 - Farmers are gathering crops like pumpkins, apples, and squash. And of course, we have our fall foliage 00:04:53.944 --> 00:05:00.618 - peak going into late October, especially around Brown County and locally for us. Each season carries 00:05:00.618 --> 00:05:07.820 - themes that are significant to the cycles of our lives. Spring typically represents rebirth, new beginnings, 00:05:07.820 --> 00:05:14.428 - and hope. Summer represents abundance, joy, high energy, and a peak of production, where the autumn 00:05:14.428 --> 00:05:16.542 - symbolizes transition, harvest, 00:05:16.706 --> 00:05:23.371 - gratitude, and preparation for a quieter time. And then winter means rest, silence, introspection, and 00:05:23.371 --> 00:05:30.100 - a necessary pause before a new cycle starts. Seasons remind us that change is constant and that nothing 00:05:30.100 --> 00:05:37.023 - stays the same forever. Seasons also show us the harmony between light and dark, warmth and cold, activity 00:05:37.023 --> 00:05:43.688 - and rest. I think of autumn as a refreshing time of the year. The cool mornings are a nice change from 00:05:43.688 --> 00:05:45.694 - the humid and hot summer days. 00:05:46.370 --> 00:05:51.751 - It's also, I've learned from Indiana now, when I say you're here, it's also a multi-clothing plan. When 00:05:51.751 --> 00:05:57.029 - you leave in the morning and it's 50, you need a jacket, it gets 75 in the day, and then of course it 00:05:57.029 --> 00:06:02.514 - gets cool in the evenings too. Something you guys already knew a lot about, but I'm learning that myself. 00:06:02.514 --> 00:06:07.688 - Once the leaves fall off trees, the forest has a totally different look. You can see more of what's 00:06:07.688 --> 00:06:12.862 - around you. Animals are fattening up for the winter. Birds are migrating. There's a lot of activity 00:06:12.862 --> 00:06:15.294 - happening as nature prepares for dormant time. 00:06:16.002 --> 00:06:22.463 - So, go take a walk in the woods or country drive and experience the busyness of autumn while you can. 00:06:22.463 --> 00:06:28.860 - It's going to be winter soon. Thank you. Thank you, Randy. That was great. I would just suggest that 00:06:28.860 --> 00:06:35.321 - now that you know, when you get four years, you'll know that it's also the sign of the rutting season 00:06:35.321 --> 00:06:41.022 - for deer and you drive with care. And with that, I'll invite Hank to introduce our guest. 00:06:44.162 --> 00:06:54.363 - I'm not sure what my connection is with the rutting season, Tracy. We just have one guest with us today. 00:06:54.363 --> 00:07:04.175 - Derek Richardson, if you could stand, guest of Whitney Cordova, so everyone can welcome you. Welcome 00:07:04.175 --> 00:07:13.598 - to Bloomington Rotary. To be clear, there was no connection, but now that you mentioned. Anyway, 00:07:13.730 --> 00:07:20.108 - If you could put up the birthday sign. Oh, you went right to it. Beautiful. So our birthdays this week, 00:07:20.108 --> 00:07:26.178 - Tim Jesson on the 8th, Eric Spoonmore on the 4th. And then for anniversaries, we have Rex Hillary, 00:07:26.178 --> 00:07:32.311 - 15 years, and Sarah Laughlin, 18 years. Just wanted to thank everyone who's able to attend. This is 00:07:32.311 --> 00:07:36.542 - the only picture I got. So sorry, Phil. It was you and dad and Luca. 00:07:37.058 --> 00:07:42.591 - taking a picture of the hats on the bouquet for Charlotte's service. But Kim's service and Charlotte's 00:07:42.591 --> 00:07:48.017 - service were both really lovely. And I know a lot of people in this room help support that. So thank 00:07:48.017 --> 00:07:53.389 - you for that. All right. So for announcements, we have lots and lots of announcements. So bear with 00:07:53.389 --> 00:07:58.868 - me. The next Rotary Book Club will be Wednesday the 21st. It's moved back a week. So put that in your 00:07:58.868 --> 00:08:04.401 - calendars, please. The Rotary Toast on your table. There are flyers. I need everyone with those flyers 00:08:04.401 --> 00:08:06.174 - gone. You need to pass them out. 00:08:06.530 --> 00:08:12.342 - And get more. We need more attendees for the toast. So help support that. I please grab the flyers. 00:08:12.342 --> 00:08:18.154 - I put them on the table because nobody took any last week. So that's the power of suggestion there. 00:08:18.154 --> 00:08:23.966 - Holiday party. We've talked about tickets are on sale. So let us know. Remind me, Jill. How are we? 00:08:26.338 --> 00:08:32.362 - That's right, thank you. There is a link in the roundabout, so just click on the link and you can do 00:08:32.362 --> 00:08:38.387 - your tickets. Futurecast is coming up November 13th, Friday the 13th. Our partnership with Ivy Tech, 00:08:38.387 --> 00:08:44.411 - $25 for Rotarians. It will be on Friday. Typically we've had them on Tuesdays, so it's been a rotary 00:08:44.411 --> 00:08:50.674 - meeting. This year it is on a Friday. It's a great opportunity to learn what's happening in the economy, 00:08:50.674 --> 00:08:55.326 - locally, state, etc. I'm going to be really curious, especially given all the 00:08:55.778 --> 00:09:00.954 - Increased traffic we've had as a result of the football championship to see if that's made place to 00:09:00.954 --> 00:09:06.181 - see with all the cuts, you know, federally and state. So I think there's going to be a lively topic, 00:09:06.181 --> 00:09:11.822 - not to mention the oil prices, et cetera. So there's a lot for them to talk about. We also need a membership 00:09:11.822 --> 00:09:17.101 - committee chair. So if anybody is interested in that, I've done it for a few years. I'm happy to work 00:09:17.101 --> 00:09:22.329 - with someone. But Lori's got too much on her plate right now and needs to step down. So if you could 00:09:22.329 --> 00:09:24.606 - see me, if you would be interested in that. 00:09:25.698 --> 00:09:32.414 - Uh oh, I went too fast. All right, one more announcement. Two more announcements. Right before I came 00:09:32.414 --> 00:09:39.129 - here, I found out, thank you Jim Bright, that Craig Spence had a stroke last week, and he is going to 00:09:39.129 --> 00:09:45.911 - be going through about four weeks of recovery. He's still not able to walk. Martha will be sending him 00:09:45.911 --> 00:09:52.561 - a card. He doesn't have a phone number in DAC, so if you would like to mail him a note, he does have 00:09:52.561 --> 00:09:55.326 - an address in DAC, and of course, Ignite, 00:09:55.426 --> 00:10:04.499 - is easy to access and get that address from. So the second thing that I wanted to share is Beacon has 00:10:04.499 --> 00:10:13.483 - their annual holiday bash coming up on the 30th at the Woolery Mill. Tickets are available there. So 00:10:13.483 --> 00:10:19.710 - please are available at, where are they available? At beaconcash.com? 00:10:20.226 --> 00:10:30.891 - BeaconBash.com, there we go. So I was like, it's not on here. BeaconBash.com, so help support that. 00:10:30.891 --> 00:10:41.983 - And I would like to invite our fabulous finance treasurer, Mark Peterson, with some exciting news here. 00:10:41.983 --> 00:10:49.662 - Rick's outside the window. Came to the meeting today with the idea that 00:10:50.050 --> 00:10:55.721 - I needed 90 seconds to talk about something. And I was talking to Tracy and she said, well, I have a 00:10:55.721 --> 00:11:01.616 - slide for you already. And I hadn't even mentioned it to her. So we're right on the same page. I haven't 00:11:01.616 --> 00:11:07.456 - looked at this slide, but I'm pretty sure I know what it says. The bills are out. And one thing I meant 00:11:07.456 --> 00:11:13.351 - to mention to you when I was up here a couple of weeks ago is for those of you who are not email people, 00:11:13.351 --> 00:11:18.910 - and even those of you that are, one way to avoid the congestion of email is to use the Ignite app. 00:11:19.266 --> 00:11:25.500 - You don't have to have an email. You don't have to look and say, when did that guy send me that thing? 00:11:25.500 --> 00:11:31.674 - You just open your Ignite app, you hit the easy pay button, up comes your bill. Now you don't see all 00:11:31.674 --> 00:11:37.787 - the detail. If you want to see all the detail, then you got to see me or Jill, or we'll help you out 00:11:37.787 --> 00:11:43.900 - whatever we can. But you see the amount, you can pay it right online. You can do it just the way you 00:11:43.900 --> 00:11:47.774 - do any other way, or you can write a check and give it to Jill. 00:11:47.874 --> 00:11:55.124 - But the Ignite app is really a great way to go with this. So that's really all I wanted to say about 00:11:55.124 --> 00:12:02.373 - that. Was there more up there? It's working? Oh, yeah. So I'm going to drill in a little bit just in 00:12:02.373 --> 00:12:09.551 - the spirit of making my point and being annoying. Here is the email that Mark sent. So it says, oh, 00:12:09.551 --> 00:12:16.801 - click here to pay online. You could do that. But I clicked on my phone to go into DAC. And I clicked 00:12:16.801 --> 00:12:17.662 - in the pay. 00:12:17.858 --> 00:12:24.511 - button. And this is what came up. And guess what? I could click here to process with my credit card. 00:12:24.511 --> 00:12:31.296 - So I did. And I immediately got the receipt. It was like two seconds. It was amazing. So I once again, 00:12:31.296 --> 00:12:34.590 - highly encourage everyone and Mark job well done. 00:12:48.450 --> 00:12:54.265 - We're a little slide heavy today, so I apologize for that. So we got a lovely note from the Community 00:12:54.265 --> 00:13:00.136 - Kitchen for our project that we did. She said, our fridges and freezer are full with a variety of hard 00:13:00.136 --> 00:13:05.495 - to get at food pantry items, eggs, ground beef, et cetera. So we got a note. Meals on Wheels, 00:13:05.495 --> 00:13:11.252 - I'm so sorry. Community Kitchen's the other one we did this weekend. So Meals on Wheels and the bags 00:13:11.252 --> 00:13:17.010 - that we bought for them have really, really helped out. So thank you, everyone. And again, that goes 00:13:17.010 --> 00:13:17.694 - towards our 00:13:17.794 --> 00:13:23.553 - one of our top goals. So appreciate to help with food security that's needed out there. Then we had 00:13:23.553 --> 00:13:29.312 - Community Kitchen. And thank you to all of those who came this week. And it was a lot of fun and we 00:13:29.312 --> 00:13:35.475 - overachieved. It was going to take two hours and we did it an hour and a half, not that we're competitive. 00:13:35.475 --> 00:13:41.234 - But the thing that was interesting to me on this was that they had last year, this time of year. So 00:13:41.234 --> 00:13:43.998 - every year teachers identify kids who need help 00:13:44.130 --> 00:13:50.868 - backpack buddies. This is for lunches over the weekend. A lot of kids get their meals and nutrients 00:13:50.868 --> 00:13:57.673 - during the school days from the schools. And so when the weekends come, they're without. So backpack 00:13:57.673 --> 00:14:04.478 - buddies sponsors that. Well, this time last year they were running about 300 backpack buddies needed 00:14:04.478 --> 00:14:07.038 - every weekend. This year it's 550. So 00:14:07.234 --> 00:14:12.943 - Again, this goes back to food security with all the scab cuts, the budget cuts, and the high prices. 00:14:12.943 --> 00:14:18.708 - It's really creating a lot of pressure out there. So the work that was done this weekend was amazing. 00:14:18.708 --> 00:14:24.586 - And there's some happy faces there. And by the way, we got to see Shams. Thank you to Sarah's not here, 00:14:24.586 --> 00:14:30.295 - but thank you. She brought Shams. And it was so wonderful to see one of the Muhammadis, the families 00:14:30.295 --> 00:14:36.286 - that we've supported. And he's driving for Uber and doing fantastic. And his little nephew is doing well. 00:14:36.418 --> 00:14:42.786 - That was amazing. Okay. So then I thought, you know, as I said, it's very slight heavy. How do we get 00:14:42.786 --> 00:14:49.216 - people to sign up for the activities? We were all used to Natalie pushing out, sign up, sign up. We're 00:14:49.216 --> 00:14:55.459 - not going, I'm holding myself back from asking Jill to push out. We need to look at the roundabout. 00:14:55.459 --> 00:15:01.826 - There are links for the signups. What you will see is the roundabout here on the right. You just look 00:15:01.826 --> 00:15:03.262 - down here and it says, 00:15:03.394 --> 00:15:09.407 - You know the activities that are there save the date under save the date you go in there. There's a 00:15:09.407 --> 00:15:15.541 - little blue link. You can see it in the middle there and then what pops up is on the left the regular 00:15:15.541 --> 00:15:21.674 - sign up genius so we can go and sign up for the activities. So we need to get in the habit of looking 00:15:21.674 --> 00:15:27.988 - at the roundabout because we need your help and your support and I don't want Jill spending time pushing 00:15:27.988 --> 00:15:32.318 - out to you. Okay. All right. And with that I am going to do or I'm not. 00:15:32.450 --> 00:15:39.745 - Michael is happy dollars. We should have some happy dollars. And it's for teachers warehouse, 00:15:39.745 --> 00:15:47.506 - by the way. I'll do 20 happy dollars because my stepbrother got married over the weekend and it was 00:15:47.506 --> 00:15:55.578 - a beautiful wedding with 200 family members. It was so many family members. So it was really enjoyable. 00:15:55.578 --> 00:15:59.070 - That's great. Other happy dollars out there. 00:16:02.370 --> 00:16:10.874 - Lynn's happy because the Yankees lost. I don't know why I'm happy. I am happy. This month is going to 00:16:10.874 --> 00:16:19.377 - be really fun. I'm going to my 50th high school reunion, and I never go back there. So that's kind of 00:16:19.377 --> 00:16:27.798 - exciting. And my partner got his first convertible in his whole life, which I couldn't even believe. 00:16:27.798 --> 00:16:31.966 - But he now has a convertible. There's some money. 00:16:34.146 --> 00:16:41.590 - I too have a 50th, but it's my college reunion. So you can see how much older I am than Lynn Schwartzberg. 00:16:41.590 --> 00:16:48.895 - And it's this weekend, I'm going to Colorado Springs, Colorado to the Colorado College 50th. Can't wait. 00:16:48.895 --> 00:16:55.921 - And I'll give 50, but I don't have it on me, Jill. 50. So I'll give whatever money was in my wallet. 00:16:55.921 --> 00:16:58.078 - I don't know how much that is. 00:16:58.658 --> 00:17:05.697 - It's my bottom dollar. How about that? No, I'm just really thrilled. My wife, Liz, I mentioned that 00:17:05.697 --> 00:17:12.806 - she's doing the Camino trail. She's fit. She's well survived the first half. So she's done about 350 00:17:12.806 --> 00:17:19.916 - kilometers so far and will continue until the beginning of November. So that's pretty awesome. Yeah. 00:17:19.916 --> 00:17:24.702 - And I'll give it to happy dollars because I sat down at this table. 00:17:24.802 --> 00:17:32.202 - Didn't know I know Whitney well, but didn't know her guests Derek who happens to be from my hometown 00:17:32.202 --> 00:17:39.676 - of Virginia Beach. 1st, good thing and he told us that he is working on a PhD and how NGOs. Implement 00:17:39.676 --> 00:17:46.270 - health programs overseas and he's been in contact with rotary clubs, particularly in the. 00:17:46.530 --> 00:17:56.933 - Penan Pen in Cambodia. And this was really interesting talk to him. And once again, no rotaries impact 00:17:56.933 --> 00:18:07.135 - around the world. Awesome. I don't have cash on me, so put $10 on my bill. But I'm putting a plug in 00:18:07.135 --> 00:18:09.054 - for IU Volleyball. 00:18:09.282 --> 00:18:18.064 - doesn't get as much press as basketball or football, but they're playing Nebraska. It's the number one 00:18:18.064 --> 00:18:26.675 - ranked team this Thursday at Wilkerson Hall, and we're ranked 15th, I think, currently. Awesome. One 00:18:26.675 --> 00:18:35.542 - more back, or two more, Glenda, and then Peyton. I'm so happy to be back after nine weeks since my knee 00:18:35.542 --> 00:18:38.014 - replacement surgery, so $10. 00:18:39.938 --> 00:18:48.124 - And one more in the back. Happy dollars. I had a busy month last month. I got married and I found out 00:18:48.124 --> 00:18:56.471 - I passed the bar exam. All right. And that's it for the happy does have lots of happy people. So that's 00:18:56.471 --> 00:19:04.898 - great. Sorry, guys, we got to keep moving. So I wanted to introduce Matt Mellies, our district governor. 00:19:04.898 --> 00:19:08.510 - He was born and raised in Northwest Indiana. 00:19:08.738 --> 00:19:13.971 - married to his wife, Sarah, and lives in Georgetown, the very far southern point. He received 00:19:13.971 --> 00:19:19.816 - his undergraduate degree from DePaul University and his Master's of Business Administration from Loyola. 00:19:19.816 --> 00:19:25.550 - He is a champion of the community and loves to serve others as well as Rotary. He proudly supports his 00:19:25.550 --> 00:19:31.116 - community in many ways. He serves on the Board of Advisors for IU Southeast School of Business, the 00:19:31.116 --> 00:19:34.846 - Board of Directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters for Kentucky Anna, 00:19:35.298 --> 00:19:40.721 - and as a county councilman for Floyd County. So you're obviously busy all the time. On a more personal 00:19:40.721 --> 00:19:46.355 - note, he shares that he loves competitions. He likes to have fun and he brings a smile with him everywhere 00:19:46.355 --> 00:19:51.884 - he goes and has a deep passion for many things. Family and friends, cooking, as you know from the recipe 00:19:51.884 --> 00:19:57.149 - book, entertaining and for serving others, his community and for Rotary. And with that, I would ask 00:19:57.149 --> 00:20:00.414 - Matt to come up and then Liz will be doing the fireside chat. 00:20:15.362 --> 00:20:23.562 - I'm excited to be here with all of you. Um, I do have to get a selfie because I've get a picture with 00:20:23.562 --> 00:20:32.083 - every club I've visited. You all are my 28th club out of 30. So let's get a quick selfie here. I'm trying 00:20:32.083 --> 00:20:37.630 - to get majority of people. Everybody say rotary. Awesome. Thank you. 00:20:38.978 --> 00:20:46.303 - No, I will tell you, other than the costume, which is my professional attire for, I wear a suit every 00:20:46.303 --> 00:20:53.844 - day, but I'm really a very casual person. So I just have some brief remarks and then Liz and I are going 00:20:53.844 --> 00:21:01.026 - to engage in answering some of your questions, which I truly appreciate. But before we do that, I'd 00:21:01.026 --> 00:21:08.638 - like to ask you guys to consider a couple of things as I make my remarks. First of all, why are you here? 00:21:10.274 --> 00:21:18.967 - Why do you come to Rotary every week? Why do you dedicate your time, talents, and treasures to this 00:21:18.967 --> 00:21:27.659 - organization? Secondly, if I were able to go out into this community and ask your community leaders 00:21:27.659 --> 00:21:36.439 - what they think about this club, what would they say? More importantly, what do you want them to say 00:21:36.439 --> 00:21:39.742 - about your club? Third, how would you 00:21:40.162 --> 00:21:49.706 - like to create lasting impact for your club and your community this year? And finally, what can I do 00:21:49.706 --> 00:21:59.534 - and what can the district do to help support you doing that? So I always like to start my conversations 00:21:59.534 --> 00:22:08.606 - with my rotary story. And ever since I was young, my father was very active in his rotary club. 00:22:09.506 --> 00:22:16.993 - My dad is about to turn 89 next month and he is still very active in his club. I remember being young 00:22:16.993 --> 00:22:24.334 - and going out and doing service projects, but I had no idea that they were service projects. I just 00:22:24.334 --> 00:22:31.748 - saw it as having fun with my dad and my brothers out in our community, but I didn't really know what 00:22:31.748 --> 00:22:38.942 - it meant. And so rotary and service really became part of our family business. My oldest brother, 00:22:39.394 --> 00:22:47.928 - has been a Rotarian for the majority of his professional career. And so it kind of grew throughout our 00:22:47.928 --> 00:22:56.297 - family. And in my journey to me standing here in front of you today, I have had the opportunity from 00:22:56.297 --> 00:23:05.246 - around the world. And I always refer to Rotary as my Rotary family. So this year as your district governor, 00:23:05.538 --> 00:23:13.065 - I had the opportunity to create my own lapel pen, and I left several on the table up front with Jim. 00:23:13.065 --> 00:23:20.591 - But my rotary lapel pen, to my rotary family, which spans the globe, but my heart truly belongs here 00:23:20.591 --> 00:23:28.043 - in Southern Indiana, in our district 6580. As I started my year, and believe it or not, I feel like 00:23:28.043 --> 00:23:34.974 - I'm still at the very beginning of the year. I know we're three months into our rotary year, 00:23:35.682 --> 00:23:44.378 - I thought about the theme for this year, create lasting impact. Every year in March, we have the opportunity 00:23:44.378 --> 00:23:52.355 - to meet and help all of the presidents for all of our clubs in the district prepare for their year. 00:23:52.355 --> 00:24:00.572 - And so in March at president elect training, I challenged all of the presidents for our clubs to think 00:24:00.572 --> 00:24:05.598 - about how they wanted to create lasting impact in their clubs. 00:24:05.794 --> 00:24:14.640 - and in their communities. Today, I get to challenge all of you with that same thing. One of the things 00:24:14.640 --> 00:24:23.572 - that I love the most about this theme is it challenges us to think beyond the immediate moment. It asks 00:24:23.572 --> 00:24:32.675 - us to think about legacy. What are we doing within our clubs and within our communities that will outlast 00:24:32.675 --> 00:24:35.166 - all of us? What are we doing 00:24:35.522 --> 00:24:43.351 - that will be here long after we're gone. I encourage you to think about that and how you want to create 00:24:43.351 --> 00:24:51.255 - lasting impact for your club and your community this year. For me, when I thought about it and I thought 00:24:51.255 --> 00:24:59.009 - about what I wanted to help the district achieve this year, it really boiled down to one thing for me. 00:24:59.009 --> 00:25:03.902 - My goal for this Rotary year was to help all of our Rotary clubs 00:25:04.546 --> 00:25:12.620 - become even stronger than they already are. And I really believe that we can do that in three ways. 00:25:12.620 --> 00:25:21.097 - Number one, we need to do a better job of telling our stories. It's not that Rotary doesn't change lives 00:25:21.097 --> 00:25:29.494 - every day. It's that too few people know about it. For years as Rotarians, we said, listen, no, we want 00:25:29.494 --> 00:25:33.854 - to do the service, but we don't need the recognition. 00:25:35.138 --> 00:25:44.165 - my family, we need the recognition. Because once people see all of the good that we are doing in our 00:25:44.165 --> 00:25:53.281 - community, they understand our purpose. And when people understand our purpose, they want to join us. 00:25:53.281 --> 00:26:01.950 - Number two, increase our giving to the Rotary Foundation. And I don't take that request lightly. 00:26:04.674 --> 00:26:12.936 - Service requires generosity and that generosity creates opportunities. The more that we are able to 00:26:12.936 --> 00:26:21.364 - give to the Rotary Foundation, the more our district gets back and we are allowed to do more district 00:26:21.364 --> 00:26:29.874 - grants. So if you didn't know, approximately 50 percent, it's actually 48 percent, of the dollars that 00:26:29.874 --> 00:26:32.766 - we donate to the Rotary Foundation 00:26:32.930 --> 00:26:40.477 - come back to the district in three years and we use those funds to sponsor district grants throughout 00:26:40.477 --> 00:26:48.098 - our district. I am pleased to tell you that this year we had more district grant requests than we ever 00:26:48.098 --> 00:26:55.719 - have before. However, we didn't have the funds to fully fund every district grant. I would love to see 00:26:55.719 --> 00:27:02.526 - us continue to grow that pool of money through our donations through the Rotary Foundation. 00:27:04.898 --> 00:27:13.385 - Third, I would love to see us grow our Rotary family. Membership matters, and it matters because the 00:27:13.385 --> 00:27:22.375 - more members that we are able to add to Rotary means the more hands that we have to get all of our project 00:27:22.375 --> 00:27:31.870 - done. It means more thought leaders within our clubs and within our communities. When we grow our Rotary family, 00:27:32.770 --> 00:27:40.618 - we grow our connection to the world. Before Liz and I get into some Q&A here, I always want to talk 00:27:40.618 --> 00:27:48.623 - and finish up by talking about the district a little bit. You fortunately or unfortunately get to see 00:27:48.623 --> 00:27:56.550 - the district governor once a year, and it's a great thrill of mine to be able to go and visit all of 00:27:56.550 --> 00:28:02.750 - our clubs. But as I've gone around through our district, every club is unique. 00:28:03.714 --> 00:28:12.043 - Every club is different. Each club has its own cultures and traditions and how they do things. 00:28:12.043 --> 00:28:21.161 - But to me, Rotary and my Rotary family is about our connections. Because Rotary was never meant to stop 00:28:21.161 --> 00:28:30.718 - at the club level. Rotary is about those connections and I have encouraged every Rotarian as I travel across 00:28:31.074 --> 00:28:37.610 - our great state in Southern Indiana, to get out and connect or reconnect with other Rotarians in our 00:28:37.610 --> 00:28:44.210 - district. You all do a fantastic project with The Toast and all of the clubs here in Bloomington. But 00:28:44.210 --> 00:28:50.939 - there are a lot of other Rotarians that I'm sure that you all know. It's great seeing the brights here. 00:28:50.939 --> 00:28:57.022 - It's fantastic that I have Jeffrey Berger. Jeffrey is the AG for this area, so the assistant. 00:28:57.762 --> 00:29:06.138 - Alon is actually district governor nominee. And so I joked earlier that I actually have nine more months 00:29:06.138 --> 00:29:14.274 - to give him a hard time and then he'll turn over and become my boss. But I encourage everybody to get 00:29:14.274 --> 00:29:22.490 - out and connect because those connections matter. It matters from the individual member to their club, 00:29:22.490 --> 00:29:26.718 - to our district, and ultimately a worldwide network. 00:29:27.362 --> 00:29:33.911 - of people who are united by service. One last comment before I let Liz come up and grill me. One of 00:29:33.911 --> 00:29:40.461 - the things that I really hope that you would consider is joining me in our district conference this 00:29:40.461 --> 00:29:47.207 - year as a way to connect. So every year we do a district conference. The past couple of years, they've 00:29:47.207 --> 00:29:54.018 - been multi-district district conferences, but there were a couple of things that I wanted to accomplish 00:29:54.018 --> 00:29:56.638 - with our district conference this year. 00:29:57.602 --> 00:30:04.361 - Number one, I wanted it to be centrally located for all of the Rotarians within our district. So district 00:30:04.361 --> 00:30:10.865 - conference this year will be April 9th and 10th of 2027. It will be in Clarksville, Indiana, which is 00:30:10.865 --> 00:30:17.815 - in the middle of our state. I also wanted it to be as affordable and approachable as possible for everybody. 00:30:17.815 --> 00:30:24.702 - So we have negotiated a fantastic room rate. We're staying at a Radisson hotel. Room rates are $75 a night. 00:30:25.922 --> 00:30:33.029 - Early registration is going to start in December and early registration will be $99 and that cost really 00:30:33.029 --> 00:30:40.203 - only covers the food. We are bringing in several fantastic keynote speakers from around Rotary and Rotary 00:30:40.203 --> 00:30:44.670 - International. I'm very excited about who we're putting together. 00:30:45.410 --> 00:30:51.442 - We're also structuring our breakout sessions a little differently. I wanted them to be facilitated 00:30:51.442 --> 00:30:57.901 - discussions on how we can advance our clubs and the district and ultimately make Rotary a stronger place. 00:30:57.901 --> 00:31:04.115 - We're going to do some things like on Friday night, we're actually going to all get together and have 00:31:04.115 --> 00:31:10.208 - a meal together, kind of family reunion style. We're going to bring in some live music. We're going 00:31:10.208 --> 00:31:12.158 - to have some games, but as one, 00:31:12.802 --> 00:31:18.675 - veteran rotarian told me rotary used to be around about gathering around the table and sharing ideas. 00:31:18.675 --> 00:31:24.548 - So we're definitely going to start conference with that. And then we're also going to do some service 00:31:24.548 --> 00:31:30.479 - projects as well because as rotarians, we all love to get our hands dirty and get involved. So as more 00:31:30.479 --> 00:31:36.294 - information comes out about district conference, I really encourage you to consider joining me April 00:31:36.294 --> 00:31:40.382 - 9th and 10th in Clarksville for our district conference. So with that, 00:31:40.738 --> 00:32:01.296 - Let the grilling begin. I love this part. If you guys are able to keep me in this seat. That would be 00:32:01.296 --> 00:32:10.366 - a success. We good to go. No, it's I'm good. 00:32:11.586 --> 00:32:17.663 - All right. Thank you. Well, thanks so much for joining us today. I really appreciate having you here. 00:32:17.663 --> 00:32:23.740 - And you know, you, you've said three months in so far, you've been traveling around what 28 clubs you 00:32:23.740 --> 00:32:29.519 - said. So how's that been going and what lessons have you learned so far? Oh, great question. Um, 00:32:29.519 --> 00:32:35.536 - it's fun. Um, you know, I will tell you, and I, and I am serious about this and I tell everyone when 00:32:35.536 --> 00:32:40.958 - I meet them so far to date, my best rotary experience has been being president of my club. 00:32:41.538 --> 00:32:48.089 - I will tell you, this has been a very fun and exciting journey. I love being able to travel around to 00:32:48.089 --> 00:32:55.025 - the clubs. I love being able to work with our district leadership. I had the opportunity and I've requested 00:32:55.025 --> 00:33:01.704 - a meeting with all of our clubs with their board either before or after the meetings. And I shared with 00:33:01.704 --> 00:33:08.126 - your board this morning that the district is really here as a support function. I don't have a job. 00:33:08.322 --> 00:33:15.452 - unless I am supporting the Rotarians of our district. And so for anything that your club or you might 00:33:15.452 --> 00:33:22.512 - want to accomplish within Rotary, we have members at the district level to help support you in those 00:33:22.512 --> 00:33:29.711 - endeavors. So we have a very, very good group of people. As I mentioned, Jeffrey's here with me today. 00:33:29.711 --> 00:33:37.470 - He primarily functions as my security, getting me in and out of facilities and everything. But no, Jeffrey is, 00:33:37.794 --> 00:33:44.095 - a long rotarian with a lot of experience, but your first point of contact. But I love telling everybody 00:33:44.095 --> 00:33:50.457 - that I am very accessible. You can reach me through a phone number or a phone call and email. And that's 00:33:50.457 --> 00:33:56.577 - one of the things that Liz, I really enjoy about this job is actually being able to talk to and work 00:33:56.577 --> 00:34:02.878 - with all the rotarians in our district. Great. Good to hear. So what can a district governor reasonably 00:34:03.010 --> 00:34:09.992 - plan to accomplish in a year. It sounds like you've got a lot of priorities. So what's realistic? What 00:34:09.992 --> 00:34:16.974 - do you think is realistic to get done? Yeah, you know, it's one of the things that I keep talking with 00:34:16.974 --> 00:34:24.227 - Alon about is coming into being district governor, you have all of these great ideas and it's a three-year 00:34:24.227 --> 00:34:31.006 - training process. And the way that Rotary trains individuals to be district governor is phenomenal. 00:34:31.842 --> 00:34:39.649 - The hierarchy, if you will, of Rotary is everything starts with the club. A club rolls up to a district 00:34:39.649 --> 00:34:47.381 - and then multiple districts roll up into zones. So within our area, we are two paired zones, which are 00:34:47.381 --> 00:34:54.963 - represented by 31 different districts. So for the past three years, I've been going through training 00:34:54.963 --> 00:34:58.942 - with 31 of my peers. And every time we get together, 00:34:59.042 --> 00:35:05.490 - We all have wonderful ideas and you kind of sit there and go, Oh, maybe I want to do that. And maybe 00:35:05.490 --> 00:35:11.939 - I want to do that. And it wasn't until March of this year, I wasn't district governor yet. And I was 00:35:11.939 --> 00:35:18.323 - like, I have got to stop this because my list of what I want to do is getting way too long. Um, the 00:35:18.323 --> 00:35:24.899 - preparation for district governor and, and what a district governor can really, um, accomplish happens 00:35:24.899 --> 00:35:27.070 - within those three years. I mean, 00:35:27.394 --> 00:35:34.996 - Right now, three months into this year, and I'm still doing club visits and I'm loving it. But working 00:35:34.996 --> 00:35:42.377 - with the whole district leadership team on how we grow our district, how we add clubs, how we raise 00:35:42.377 --> 00:35:49.905 - more for the Rotary Foundation is really where I'm spending my time focusing on the remainder of this 00:35:49.905 --> 00:35:56.990 - year. So you mentioned one of your goals was to help increase our donations to Rotary Internet. 00:35:57.154 --> 00:36:04.210 - Rotary International. And we've had a couple questions come from club members about the costs that continue 00:36:04.210 --> 00:36:10.808 - to increase for everybody, whether it's groceries or other things. And so are we potentially putting 00:36:10.808 --> 00:36:17.472 - ourselves in the position of becoming a more elite type of club to be a part of? We know that some of 00:36:17.472 --> 00:36:22.110 - our younger members have stopped coming or had to drop off just due to 00:36:22.370 --> 00:36:29.389 - their own personal costs of running a family and a household. So what advice do you give to clubs to 00:36:29.389 --> 00:36:36.339 - try to encourage more different types of diverse members to join, especially if costs are a factor? 00:36:36.339 --> 00:36:43.427 - Absolutely. No, that's a great question. And it's one that Jeffrey knows I love to talk about because 00:36:43.427 --> 00:36:50.238 - he sits out in the audience and asks me these pointed questions because he knows where I'm going. 00:36:51.042 --> 00:36:58.562 - Cost is a concern for everybody. To me, it doesn't matter where you are or where your position in life 00:36:58.562 --> 00:37:06.009 - is, whether you're working, retired, unemployed, cost is always an issue for everybody. My philosophy 00:37:06.009 --> 00:37:13.382 - is that I believe in offering a version of Rotary to everyone, no matter where they are. I wanna say 00:37:13.382 --> 00:37:20.318 - that again, because to me, this is really important. I believe in offering a version of Rotary 00:37:20.898 --> 00:37:28.499 - for everyone no matter where they are. And what that might mean is that not everyone can break away 00:37:28.499 --> 00:37:36.252 - at noon in the middle of the week to join a Rotary meeting. There are some individuals that might not 00:37:36.252 --> 00:37:44.157 - because of their profession, they might not because of costs be able to do that. That doesn't mean that 00:37:44.157 --> 00:37:49.022 - a traditional noon meeting needs to go away. It just means that 00:37:49.154 --> 00:37:56.267 - Are there other alternatives that we can offer individuals? I think Bloomington is a great example of 00:37:56.267 --> 00:38:03.240 - this. Bloomington has a morning club. They have a noon club. They have two noon clubs, but now they 00:38:03.240 --> 00:38:10.213 - have a family version where we're offering Rotary to family members that couldn't break away in the 00:38:10.213 --> 00:38:15.582 - middle of the day. Is there an opportunity for an evening version of Rotary? 00:38:15.810 --> 00:38:23.647 - for other professions that might not be able to come for breakfast or come in the middle of the day. 00:38:23.647 --> 00:38:31.716 - I believe that's how we truly grow Rotary is by offering Rotary where potential Rotarians are. We don't 00:38:31.716 --> 00:38:39.631 - need to change the soup recipe that we already have with the clubs that we already have. But is there 00:38:39.631 --> 00:38:44.286 - an alternative that we can add for Rotarians who can't make 00:38:44.482 --> 00:38:51.659 - the current formats of our meetings. There are several rotary clubs across the US and the world that 00:38:51.659 --> 00:38:59.333 - do online rotary. I know a couple people that live within our district that actually belong to a California 00:38:59.333 --> 00:39:06.652 - club and they meet via zoom and they still do service projects and they are still rotarians. So to me, 00:39:06.652 --> 00:39:13.758 - it's all about being thoughtful about offering rotary in a different way to more people. Thank you. 00:39:13.986 --> 00:39:20.932 - And, you know, as we're thinking about our pipeline, our membership pipeline, we can't forget about 00:39:20.932 --> 00:39:27.879 - Rotaract and how important it is to bring in younger people and get them thinking, you know, of the 00:39:27.879 --> 00:39:34.964 - Service Above Self model at a young age. What do you see around our district in terms of Rotaract and 00:39:34.964 --> 00:39:40.382 - engagement of younger people? Yeah, I love the whole youth portion of Rotary. 00:39:40.546 --> 00:39:48.483 - When I was young, I can remember at least five exchange students that came through our house as part 00:39:48.483 --> 00:39:56.577 - of Rotary. It was something that my dad was very passionate about. And Rotary youth programs are still 00:39:56.577 --> 00:40:03.806 - alive and well. They got a lot of hit during the pandemic. We still have exchange students. 00:40:04.290 --> 00:40:11.145 - Unfortunately, this year we don't have an inbound or outbound student from our district, but we're working 00:40:11.145 --> 00:40:17.616 - on an outbound student for next year. I will tell you that our interact clubs, in my opinion, across 00:40:17.616 --> 00:40:24.214 - our district are thriving. We have a lot of high school based interact clubs and they do very well and 00:40:24.214 --> 00:40:30.749 - they're very engaged in our community. I will tell you sitting here right now that we only have three 00:40:30.749 --> 00:40:31.710 - Rotorat clubs. 00:40:31.938 --> 00:40:40.732 - and one of which is talking about surrendering their charter. I'm also encouraged because I know that 00:40:40.732 --> 00:40:49.526 - IU Southeast is actually working on reactivating their charter. But to me, engaging and involving our 00:40:49.526 --> 00:40:58.320 - youth in Rotary is more important than ever. And I don't say that that the youth is a solution to any 00:40:58.320 --> 00:41:00.734 - of our future problems, but 00:41:01.058 --> 00:41:09.470 - Youth today are much more engaged in service and volunteerism than they were when I was growing up. 00:41:09.470 --> 00:41:18.050 - And regardless of why they are engaged in it, all of those high school interact students need service 00:41:18.050 --> 00:41:27.051 - in order to go on in academia and go on to universities. University-based Rotaract clubs need that service 00:41:27.051 --> 00:41:29.406 - to demonstrate to employers 00:41:29.826 --> 00:41:37.029 - that they understand the impact of their role within a corporate job on our communities. So I believe 00:41:37.029 --> 00:41:44.090 - that there is a quite a bit of potential between interact, rotor act, and, and then actually making 00:41:44.090 --> 00:41:51.505 - sure that we collect those rotor actors as Rotarians within our clubs. But that goes back to my previous 00:41:51.505 --> 00:41:57.790 - point of we need to be able to offer a version of rotary for everybody where they're at. 00:41:59.362 --> 00:42:05.575 - So we know that a lot of young people are really interested in mentorships and whether that's formal 00:42:05.575 --> 00:42:11.910 - or informal and certainly Rotary provides a wealth of individuals who have a lot of career experience, 00:42:11.910 --> 00:42:18.123 - life experience and a lot of knowledge to share and are willing to do so. Do you see any programs in 00:42:18.123 --> 00:42:24.459 - Rotary where there's maybe perhaps a more formal mentorship program or how do you see that working for 00:42:24.459 --> 00:42:25.566 - us as a pipeline? 00:42:25.762 --> 00:42:33.096 - These are great questions, by the way. These are awesome. I love these questions. There are so many 00:42:33.096 --> 00:42:40.576 - opportunities for development within Rotary. I remember when I started with my club in New Albany. If 00:42:40.576 --> 00:42:48.203 - you go back to my introduction, I'm not from the Southern Indiana area. I grew up in Northwest Indiana. 00:42:48.203 --> 00:42:55.390 - But when I got involved, when we moved to Southern Indiana, I knew I wanted to be part of Rotary. 00:42:55.970 --> 00:43:04.570 - But I also knew that I wanted to be part of the Rotary Club of New Albany because they are some of the 00:43:04.570 --> 00:43:13.337 - most well-connected individuals within our area. Personal development, leadership development, mentoring 00:43:13.337 --> 00:43:20.350 - is still a huge part of Rotary. Think about new Rotarians that come into your club. 00:43:21.442 --> 00:43:29.075 - If you don't mentor them, if you don't ask them to be part of a committee and get them involved, they're 00:43:29.075 --> 00:43:36.854 - not really quite sure what Rotary is. And yet Rotary has so much to offer. There's online training courses 00:43:36.854 --> 00:43:44.341 - that they can take for leadership development. There's a whole network of people in this room that are 00:43:44.341 --> 00:43:51.102 - so well connected within this community that that is a valuable network that anybody, young, 00:43:51.458 --> 00:43:58.142 - middle-aged, older, somebody from California, moving here, needs that network. And that mentoring and 00:43:58.142 --> 00:44:04.958 - development is everybody's responsibility. Well, I know we've done a really great job with Bryla. We've 00:44:04.958 --> 00:44:11.970 - got Joy Harder. Ah, Joy. Yeah, so great job there, Joy, and others who've been involved with that, because 00:44:11.970 --> 00:44:15.902 - that's a really great way for us to make those connections. 00:44:16.098 --> 00:44:22.217 - Can you share any other lessons learned or best practices that you've seen in your travels around to 00:44:22.217 --> 00:44:28.094 - the different clubs across the district? Yeah, and the first thing that I would do is, you know. 00:44:28.290 --> 00:44:35.320 - praise and recognize this club for what you're doing with corporate memberships. We have individuals, 00:44:35.320 --> 00:44:42.487 - as I mentioned, at the district level that are working on helping to educate and train and develop some 00:44:42.487 --> 00:44:49.448 - of our clubs that are looking towards corporate memberships. And it sounds like you guys have a very 00:44:49.448 --> 00:44:56.478 - solid program. I know that there are clubs within our district that do a lot through fundraising that 00:44:56.898 --> 00:45:03.896 - we've been able to pair sister clubs with them when they were trying to develop and figure out what 00:45:03.896 --> 00:45:11.174 - they wanted to do as a fundraiser. So a great example of that is the Vincennes Rotary Club does a great 00:45:11.174 --> 00:45:18.452 - raffle fundraiser. And one of our Columbus, the Columbus Sunrise Clubs was looking to do something very 00:45:18.452 --> 00:45:25.660 - similar. They partnered together and there was no stealing of ideas or anything like that. It was just 00:45:25.660 --> 00:45:26.430 - two clubs. 00:45:26.658 --> 00:45:33.539 - trying to help each other grow and now the Columbus Sunrise raffle program is very successful for them 00:45:33.539 --> 00:45:40.621 - and it also has become not only a fundraiser but a way for them to actually engage potential new members. 00:45:40.621 --> 00:45:46.968 - So I think for me that answer really comes back to the connection and going out and connecting 00:45:46.968 --> 00:45:50.910 - or reconnecting with Rotarians within our district because 00:45:51.042 --> 00:45:57.437 - There are a ton of ideas and a ton of things that we can learn and share from one another. And again, 00:45:57.437 --> 00:46:03.958 - selfishly and plugging conference, that's going to be a great opportunity for that. Well, you mentioned 00:46:03.958 --> 00:46:10.478 - partnerships and I think, you know, certainly our Rotary Toast here locally is a great example of clubs 00:46:10.478 --> 00:46:12.798 - partnering to do something positive. 00:46:12.962 --> 00:46:20.897 - Do you see any examples where different clubs across the district are partnering to advance maybe one 00:46:20.897 --> 00:46:28.832 - of your goals or a district goal? And what can you tell us about that? Well, I would tell you, again, 00:46:28.832 --> 00:46:36.222 - I feel like I'm being selfish and talking about myself with this one, but I am ecstatic at the 00:46:36.706 --> 00:46:43.216 - involvement from all of our clubs and all of our rotarians with our cookbook project. So cooking is 00:46:43.216 --> 00:46:50.051 - something that I'm very passionate about. And I personally believe that cooking is a way that we connect 00:46:50.051 --> 00:46:56.691 - with one another, just like music is a way for us to connect. And when I approached my year and I was 00:46:56.691 --> 00:47:03.591 - talking to several of my colleagues, everybody was like, Hey, you love to cook. Why don't we put together 00:47:03.591 --> 00:47:04.958 - a district cookbook? 00:47:05.794 --> 00:47:13.788 - and we'll do it for food-based organizations. So thank you all for submitting your recipes. My goal 00:47:13.788 --> 00:47:22.101 - with the cookbook was 200 recipes. I will tell you, I have not heard the final count because they still 00:47:22.101 --> 00:47:29.616 - keep coming in the recipes, but we're over 400 recipes for this cookbook. Now I started this, 00:47:29.616 --> 00:47:31.614 - like I said, as a way to 00:47:31.810 --> 00:47:38.413 - raise money for us to do a district wide service project, if you will. I didn't realize that this was 00:47:38.413 --> 00:47:44.887 - the first district wide fundraiser that our district has done. So the way that the program is going 00:47:44.887 --> 00:47:51.556 - to work is we have a whole committee of people that are working on getting everything formatted. We're 00:47:51.556 --> 00:47:56.670 - going to send it off to a printer who specializes in these types of cookbooks. 00:47:57.186 --> 00:48:04.182 - And then we're going to have all of you in the club sell these cookbooks and 100% of the proceeds from 00:48:04.182 --> 00:48:10.975 - the cookbook are going to go to food based organizations. So to dive a little deeper into that, and 00:48:10.975 --> 00:48:17.971 - this is something I'm extremely proud of our district, which is represented by those 30 clubs and 1400 00:48:17.971 --> 00:48:18.718 - Rotarians. 00:48:18.946 --> 00:48:26.879 - is divided up into eight different areas. I mentioned Jeffrey's here with me today. Jeffrey is an assistant 00:48:26.879 --> 00:48:34.519 - governor for this area. We're going to take those funds and we are identifying food based organizations 00:48:34.519 --> 00:48:37.310 - in each of the eight different areas. 00:48:37.442 --> 00:48:44.594 - So the money is going to go to an organization that you all will recognize. You all have probably done 00:48:44.594 --> 00:48:51.677 - service projects for and are heavily involved in your community. So I don't know if that answers your 00:48:51.677 --> 00:48:59.038 - question, but I felt like this to me was an overwhelming response of me asking my Rotary family for help. 00:48:59.234 --> 00:49:04.657 - and something that I thought would be a fun and unique project. And by all means, it's exceeded 00:49:04.657 --> 00:49:10.758 - my expectations and we haven't even sold the cookbook yet, so. Is it too late for people to get in recipes? 00:49:10.758 --> 00:49:16.464 - If you get them in this week, I will make sure they're in the cookbook. Okay, you guys heard it here 00:49:16.464 --> 00:49:22.283 - first. All right, one more question. Absolutely. What has been your favorite part about being district 00:49:22.283 --> 00:49:28.158 - governor so far and what advice would you give to your successor in order to take on the role? Not that 00:49:28.158 --> 00:49:29.118 - we know anybody. 00:49:29.314 --> 00:49:37.451 - in the room. I will tell you without a doubt my favorite part has been meeting everybody. I'm a wallflower 00:49:37.451 --> 00:49:45.131 - if you couldn't tell so this is getting me out of my shell now. I do. I have been an active rotarian 00:49:45.131 --> 00:49:50.910 - for many years and it warms my heart every time I get to go into a new club 00:49:51.010 --> 00:49:59.312 - to meet Rotarians that I haven't met in our district, to share their experience, to hear their Rotary 00:49:59.312 --> 00:50:07.695 - stories is a huge thrill and a huge joy for me. I mentioned that you all are the 28th visit out of 30. 00:50:07.695 --> 00:50:15.102 - I was very intentional. I wanted my club visits early on so that I could go back to clubs. 00:50:15.266 --> 00:50:22.608 - whether it be for their events or if they needed help or if they needed representation. Early on, 00:50:22.608 --> 00:50:30.324 - I met with, we have a small rotary club in Sullivan, Indiana, and I walked into that club and I wasn't 00:50:30.324 --> 00:50:33.246 - really sure what I walked into because 00:50:33.410 --> 00:50:39.580 - They weren't sure about district governor. They weren't sure about the district. They had no idea what 00:50:39.580 --> 00:50:45.570 - a district grant was. And I'm sitting there for the hour scratching my head going, this can't be, I 00:50:45.570 --> 00:50:51.681 - know my predecessors had been there. Um, but they didn't understand the support of the network of our 00:50:51.681 --> 00:50:58.270 - district. So they put on this fantastic corn festival every year and they've been doing it for over 50 years. 00:50:58.594 --> 00:51:05.187 - Well, I got several other AGs and other Rotarians that are in close by proximity, and my wife, who's 00:51:05.187 --> 00:51:11.715 - not a Rotarian, but should be, and she puts up with a lot of my Rotary work, and we all went to the 00:51:11.715 --> 00:51:18.243 - Corn Festival. And it was amazing to see this club, who, when I walked in, had no idea who I was or 00:51:18.243 --> 00:51:24.771 - why I was there or why they were part of a district, light up that they had so many other Rotarians 00:51:24.771 --> 00:51:26.142 - come to their event. 00:51:26.626 --> 00:51:36.575 - So I will tell you that that has been a great joy for me. As far as advice, start now, buddy. No, Alon's 00:51:36.575 --> 00:51:46.807 - been fantastic to work with. I've known Alon for several years prior to him accepting the nominee position. 00:51:46.807 --> 00:51:55.998 - But early on when I was approached by the notion of doing this, I said, I don't know that I can. 00:51:56.866 --> 00:52:04.540 - said, I have a full-time profession. I run my own practice. I'm involved in all of these other things. 00:52:04.540 --> 00:52:11.991 - And a wonderful rotarian, whom I'm sure most of you know, who is our admin, Betty Dunham, looked at 00:52:11.991 --> 00:52:19.591 - me and said, Matt, if not now, when? And I said, OK, all right, Betty. I can't argue with that. It is 00:52:19.591 --> 00:52:23.838 - definitely a manageable job. It is a fun job. It is one. 00:52:24.290 --> 00:52:30.614 - I do get emotional from time to time, which Sarah, my wife, says is fine for people to see my emotions. 00:52:30.614 --> 00:52:36.574 - I will not be happy at the end of this year when I have to turn over to Linda, who's our district 00:52:36.574 --> 00:52:42.716 - governor-elect, because this has been fantastic. So enjoy the ride, my friend. Well, Matt, thank you 00:52:42.716 --> 00:52:48.797 - so much for being here today. Thank you. I really appreciate it. We hope you'll come back and visit 00:52:48.797 --> 00:52:53.054 - us. Absolutely. Thanks again. Let's give him a big round of applause. 00:52:54.242 --> 00:53:08.033 - Do we want to get one question? No. No online questions. Lantz is there. Joy, come on. Oh, 00:53:08.033 --> 00:53:22.430 - Lantz is here. Oh, geez. Oh, nice. Very nice. We got one from Mark. Warren, Northwest Indiana. 00:53:22.978 --> 00:53:29.812 - So I was born in Hammond, raised in Munster. My oldest brother still lives in Munster. My dad lives 00:53:29.812 --> 00:53:36.850 - in Dyer. So all in that region area. Did you ever work with steel mills? No, I did not. But I remember 00:53:36.850 --> 00:53:44.094 - the steel mills. So you aren't for a region rat. And where was your favorite meal that you've had so far? 00:53:44.962 --> 00:53:50.836 - Well, that's really, that's really challenging because I am not a lunch person. Um, I would say the, 00:53:50.836 --> 00:53:56.884 - the best was so far. I went to Columbus sunrise, which is a morning meeting. Um, and they talked online 00:53:56.884 --> 00:54:02.874 - about rolling out the red carpeting for me. And I said, don't worry about the red carpeting. Just make 00:54:02.874 --> 00:54:08.981 - sure there's coffee. Cause I was definitely a coffee drinker. So I had two cups right away when I walked 00:54:08.981 --> 00:54:13.982 - in the room. So that was, that was good. Awesome. Thank you all. Thank you very much. 00:54:14.274 --> 00:54:21.202 - Thank you for what you do. I appreciate it. All right. So if anybody had any questions as to why Liz 00:54:21.202 --> 00:54:28.061 - does community relations, you were phenomenal. You were absolutely amazing. So thank you. And thank 00:54:28.061 --> 00:54:35.127 - you, Matt, for just the candor and the straight shooting. In honor of your talk, we'll make a donation 00:54:35.127 --> 00:54:42.398 - of $100 to Shalom for this quarter. And I'd like to thank all of our volunteers, as always. Diana Hoffman 00:54:42.398 --> 00:54:43.358 - for greeting. 00:54:43.714 --> 00:54:50.191 - Hank for stepping up at the last minute for introductions of our guest. Joy Harder, our Zoom host, and 00:54:50.191 --> 00:54:56.542 - Randy Saunders. What a great reflection. Alon Barker, our reporter. Michael Schirmes, as always, the 00:54:56.542 --> 00:55:00.126 - camera and mic operator. Jonas Chang, doing photography. 00:55:00.354 --> 00:55:06.982 - Liz, our fireside chat hostess, and Jill, of course, is our executive assistant, and Tyler, our audio 00:55:06.982 --> 00:55:13.480 - tech guru. So our next meeting will be here in the Georgian Room on October 13th. Anthony Leal will 00:55:13.480 --> 00:55:19.978 - be our special guest discussing living the dream. So please join us. And with that, if you are able 00:55:19.978 --> 00:55:26.605 - to stand and please put up the slide for our four-way test of the things we think, say, or do. First, 00:55:26.605 --> 00:55:27.710 - is it the truth? 00:55:28.034 --> 00:55:35.101 - Second, is it fair to all concerned? Third, will it build goodwill and better friendships? Fourth, will 00:55:35.101 --> 00:55:38.974 - it be beneficial to all concerned? And fifth, is it fun?