By far, in my humble opinion, the best RLI session so far. Too bad it was the last one (with the exception of the graduate class that hasn’t been held in this district for at least a year and a half now). There are a number of reasons that I feel this way based on a number of factors for me personally, let me explain:
- Attendance. Not just attendance to my own club meetings, and the club meetings of my sponsor club, but attendance to as many functions as I can attend. Ranging from the by-invitation-only events such as PETS, pre-PETS, and area-level leadership meetings, to different training opportunities like Assembly and Membership Seminars, to larger events like D5050 Conference, other District Conferences, Rotaract Pre-Convention, and RI International Convention, to the just because events like GolFun, Foundation Dinner, fellowship events, other club meetings, firesides, fundraisers, community events, you name it. Over the past number of years I’ve attended all of these and have enriched my life the more for it! But it’s not just about seeing how many events I can attend in a give year, it’s more so the push for excellence. This is my way of throwing myself into an organization that has so much to offer through so much to learn. The extent of information out there is really limitless, you do yourself a disservice by not giving yourself every opportunity to learn and grow through exposure.
- Willingness. Following high exposure to all that the above events and activities offer comes a want and a need from the individual to be receptive to the information. Passivity closes the door to opportunity, I believe this to be true. By taking part in any sort of activity, be it Rotary or otherwise, you can gain a wealth of information about a number of things; you simply need to be willing to do so. Be receptive and the knowledge will flow easily and effortlessly.
- Connections. Through showing people that I enjoy attending functions and displaying that I am a sponge for knowledge, I have had excellent opportunities to mingle with and build relationships with individuals who want to share their knowledge in a number of areas. This allows me to greatly expand my Rotary knowledge through my encyclopaedia of colleagues who can at least point me in the right direction should I have questions about a number ideas.
- Google. I mean seriously, nearly anything you need to know or have any want to know can be found on the internet somewhere. There is absolutely no reason why you, I, him, her, five year old, parakeet can’t sit down at a computer (or on your phone) and just look it up! Granted, and I think we all agree, that if you go on over to the RI website and try to look something up from the opening page, you may find yourself in the far recesses of some programmer’s labyrinth but if you’re smart about it and use proper search terms, information is your pearl and the world is your oyster!
If I had to wrap that all into one concise term… I’d use exposure. My exposure to Rotary has left me two steps ahead of the average Rotarian with equal time served in this organization. So, back to the question at hand,
“Why was RLI III the best session?”
Simply because I knew the answers to 85% of the content that was given to us previously. What I enjoyed about part III the most was information on club advertising. PDG Rod Thompson gave a particularly well presented talk on branding and advertising. The information I gained from that session is good not only on a club level but will also be extended out to our Rotaract district. Just before the first break as well, DG Sean Hogan had the participants break into groups to discuss how to deal with difficult clubs. The exercise was good but what I took away from it the most was listening to how others would deal with the same situations then the general discussion as a group on how to deal. These group initiatives are invaluable and the overall direction of the answer will change with the different group participants. Our class was particularly good and I honestly value their opinions immensely.
RLI, if you haven’t taken it and it’s offered where you are, I think that it is a series of course worth taking. If you’ve taken the first or second section and think to yourself oh man, this isn’t really doing it for me but the lunch is good, I say stick it out because the last session should be good! If you HAVE already taken all sections and would like to discuss any of the material offered, please feel free to contact me! I love bouncing ideas off of other people, especially when it relates to Rotaract and Rotary!
My name is DRR Jennifer Petrichenko, and I endorse this program!