Notes from July 19, 2016

Mark, an Edina native who joined the Edina Morningside Club in 2002, is our new District Governor. A dynamic and engaging individual, he described his journey in Rotary—joining to network and discovering how much he loved giving back through the many activities and efforts of Rotary. Mark has observed that clubs that stay healthy and grow their memberships are VIBRANT. They have energy, welcoming visitors with warm hands, and a website that is interesting and exciting. Vibrant clubs do fun things, and they continually satisfy the reasons that people join Rotary in the first place—for networking, to give back, and for fellowship. By being mindful of these things, we should aim for steady growth—this is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes powerful leadership and a commitment to being and staying vibrant to get to the finish line. Mark also shared a great tactic he developed for giving $1000 to the Rotary Foundation every year. He puts $20 of his weekly $100 “allowance” aside to give to the RI Foundation. Before the year is up, he has made his $1000 contribution goal—the Paul Harris Fellow level. Mark closed by reminding the EP AM club of the words of Peter Drucker—“What got you here will not keep you here.” Vibrant clubs attract like-minded people. The more people you have, the more energy you have, the more money you can collect, the more projects you can do, and more of humanity is served. Let’s strive to be VIBRANT and great, on purpose!