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Busted

Posted on March 24, 2011 by Paul Riehemann | Leave a comment

Wednesday, I rather spontaneously (“rather” referring to running past Pat first and gaining her encouragement) announced the “busted” challenge.

I was in a big hurry to get to the debate so am recounting the details in my dead and neglected blog – but these things are related.

Every week, I get a script with a wonderful assortment of members in the news items, and while we see them in the newsletter and on screen, it’s unfortunate to me that we don’t get a chance to share them live on Wednesdays and celebrate each others’ successes, newsworthy adventures, and wearing/not wearing of the Rotary pin. We all want to get to our speakers and so this stuff ends up on the cutting room floor most weeks.

So I thought the blog might reawaken as a way to address that AND be a venue to have some fun for the last quarter of my term.

I’ve really been taken by surprise at the apparent fun many of you are having with the whole fining business over the wearing of the pin. I stole this from a past president or two and am uncertain how it’s taken on a life of its own but all I know is that I cannot leave my house without running into a Rotarian and I cannot run into a Rotarian without a comment about pin wearing – not to mention the many emails and photos I get about “I was wearing my pin – SEE!”

What finally inspired me to launch the game of “busted” was the photo you see attached to this post. Walking into Bonfyre last Wednesday (in fairness after changing out of business attire and attending a casual event), I ran into Brad Hutter walking out. Brad naturally (1) put on my name tag which I was still sporting (classy!) and (2) had his pin on.

In short: Busted.

So, I will kick this off retroactively by fining myself $5 for the double-whammy: Me = no pin. Brad = pin. Brad wearing my nametag I am not entirely sure what to do about so we will just leave that alone.

Here are the rules to “Busted”:

You encounter me out and about in business casual or business attire (i.e. not lawn-mowing outfit or evening gown) and I am not wearing a Rotary pin and I fine myself $1.

I encounter you under same circumstances and I fine you $1.

If you are wearing your pin and I am not wearing mine, I am fined $5.

Why this will work: As many of you have noticed, I usually wear my pin on Wednesday. This requires me to know where it is and apply it to my clothing. This is a lot of effort but since I’m generally mindful of presiding over the meeting, I seem to catch on most mornings.

My big confession: I think I’ve shared before that I pretty much always thought we are supposed to wear our pins on Wednesday when we meet. Did I think I wouldn’t be let in without a pin? I don’t know. However, the convention is to wear our pins whenever we want to in order to subtly remind ourselves of our Rotarian values and connect with others. And to give ourselves one more thing to do before taking suits to the drycleaner.

So we’ll see how this goes, if it’s fun, and if we net some green for the good work of our Madison Rotary Foundation in the process – and if not, if we net some good for ourselves by using the pin to remind ourselves that we are Rotarians and all the good that stands for.

Giving before being asked

Posted on October 14, 2010 by Paul Riehemann | 3 comments

Dear fellow Rotarians,

At our board meeting the first Monday in October, Susan Schmitz, our fund drive leader this year, made her presentation about her plan for this year. Directors and officers received at our places the donation card as an informational item.

We talked about the campaign, I made mention it would be good if we all donated at 100 percent as a board, and we moved on to other business.

Now Susan is a dynamic chair and your president is a passionate fundraiser but. . ..

I worked out a letter to the board and ok I’ve been sick and it took me a while but less than 10 days maybe and when Pat got it she said “don’t be surprised if you don’t see letters for some people.”

BECAUSE AS IT TURNS OUT 7/19 (or 36 some percent returned their donation as a result of a HAND OUT at a board meeting). I was stunned. Thank you.

I would like to think that I am an enlightened donor but I am not in that number.

Leadership is giving without being asked. Service is giving without being asked.

I can assure you the club needs you. I can assure myself if you are reading this you are already giving in some way. My question to us all is what can/should/we would enjoy doing without being asked specifically.

Take it personally and see what you come up with. It comes from the heart. Seek that a bit.

Ok, yes and send your check :). I will send mine.

Yours in giving, Juli

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Tagged Annual Fund

First days on the job

Posted on July 14, 2010 by Paul Riehemann | 2 comments

After my first day at the podium and 14 days on the job, my first thought is that I’m sorry you all missed my experimental blog post on another platform where I reflected on the last board meeting at which Dave presided and his term. I have far more appreciation today than I did even a month ago for Dave’s legacy in terms of leadership, planning and a very steady hand on the wheel. It’s not a simple task or a light one and Dave made it look easy. As I started to demonstrate today, I will do my best to make it look extremely difficult. Thank you Dave.

Learning to blog after crafting a certain style on Facebook (i.e. brief) causes me to be a bit more reflective in this format. There are many things in the holding pen to write about but my primary reflection on today’s meeting is how well it captured my priorities as president.

*Engagement at the weekly meeting: My goal is for us to leave with more energy than we came with. There are many other ways to put that but whether it’s fun or intellectual engagement, I want you to leave with that feeling. I unleashed the “departure greeters,” a title that needs improvement (“thanks for coming” greeters) on you without warning and apparently that needs some explanation next week but all it’s to the end of that goal. Let me know how you’re doing. Please.

My objectives for engagement extend far beyond the weekly meeting and are an extension of Dave’s work — and that of many, many others — but the weekly meeting is my core focus under this header for today.

*Membership recruitment and retention: Before today’s meeting, I attended the Membership Committee meeting. Welcoming seven new members and getting to meet them in person today was very exciting. Find them. Befriend them. But the bigger picture is that this is the lifeblood of our club. I could give you a lot of numbers but in the end the numbers are about our success and commitment as members to believe so much in what we are doing that we invite colleagues to join us — and keep them. Ok, but it also fundamentally affects our bottom line, our spirit, and try fooling around on LinkedIn, it is most fascinating.

*Annual fund: I am most sorrowful that Stu was not at today’s meeting as we would have gained a nice donation to the Foundation. Susan Schmitz will chair the committee this year, and we are committed to a diverse campaign that builds the Foundation’s coffers. I went to my first Foundation board meeting yesterday and the quality of the management of our funds, in terms of both giving and growing, is excellent. The more you know, the more you will be inspired to give. Or perhaps you shall be fined.

*Rotary Youth Exchange: We enjoyed having an inbound and outbound student at the club today, both, ironically from/to Germany. We are hosting a get-together on 7/21 (next Wed) before the meeting to talk about the easy ways we can all help this program and connect us with these great students. Laura Davis and a small group of dedicated Rotarians have managed this program and we have the vision of expanding involvement to everything from taking a student to a Mallards game (“take me out to the ballgame”) to hosting. Come if you can, email if you can’t.

*Planning and succession: This largely deals with eliminating the roast; however, I have made room for (1) charging Paul Riehemann with leading an ad hoc committee to create a new five year strategic plan, as the current one expires in April and (2) engaging with Paul (who is President Elect), Pat, and our committee chairs in conversations about how to ensure continuity of leadership while fostering change. There will surely be more posts about that in the future. We will also carry forward this year the legacy work of Bob Sorge’s strategic planning team (and the plan) and Dave’s leadership — with a lot of help from Derrick and others — to create a one year annual plan linked to the strategic plan.

While I share with you these priorities, I also know that I harbor — ok that’s a lie, have set sail to — a series of other things I Really Care About. You can’t make 126 or whatever appointments and not get engaged in the work of every committee. I have fallen in love with the work of every one of them. But I trust all of you to go forth and make Rotary, so I will focus as I’ve outlined above until I stray into your camp, camps I’ve camped in before (ethics symposium), or where the camp counselor has tackled the Wed meal with me (e.g. Laura Peck and Centennial committee). Etc.

While there is so much that is exciting and attractive to work on, the great news is that you all make it happen while I look for the switch on the mic.

Yours in service above self, Juli

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