Labor Day weekend. If you are like me it brings back memories of the last official weekend of Summer, the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon and for all my East Coasters it was the last weekend before we all went back to school. My sole goal this year is Member Engagement, “getting more of our members to attend meetings more often” So far we have seen a steady increase in our attendance thanks to the great programs put forth by Jim Armstrong. One area where we can get our members more engaged is a program in conjunction with Partners in Education. The bottom line on this program is we go into schools and talk to middle-school and high school students about our careers. This is tailor made for our Vocational Committee under the leadership of Dan Herlinger.. Stay tuned for upcoming dates where you can get involved with this great program. Many of you have heard my story about how I was introduced to Rotary and it was through a very similar program during my senior year in high school. I grew up in a small town in Upstate NY and our local Rotary Club hosted a “job Shadow” program for select seniors. I was chosen for this opportunity and was partnered with the President of our local community bank who was a Rotarian as well. I spent the morning with him watching what he did and then we were all invited to the Rotary meeting that day to have lunch and share what we learned. I stood up in front of the group and said, “I learned I don’t want to be a banker” True story, sorry Mike Bieza. But what I took away from that experience has lasted with me my entire career. I learned from my Rotary experience that day about getting involved in your community the importance of checking in with your clients. A simple call to see how they are doing. The seed for my Rotary experience was planted on that day. It is also why I want us to work with Partners in Education during my year.
I hope each of you has a great Labor Day weekend with friends and family.