President Paul called us to order and led the group in singing the Rotary grace. Dave S. then took the floor raising Happy dollars for various and sundry including the Riders, Hilltops, Bears and Petrofka Farms. 

 

President Paul then presented his well prepared inaugural address which has been replicated below. Paul proceeded to very ably facilitate a group brainstorming session that raised numerous ideas:

 

 

Here is President Paul's Address:

 

Rotary Club of Saskatoon
Vision for 2018-2019 Rotary Year
Presentation by President Paul Gauthier
September 10, 2018
 
"Good afternoon everyone. Today, I get to address you as your incoming president. I just want to start by saying that I am very proud and most thankful to be a member of the Rotary Club of Saskatoon; and more so to have the opportunity to serve you as president for the next Rotary year.
 
I see this year as a rather interesting year for our club; and I want to start a conversation around those today. We have a few irons in the fire, so to speak; I feel that we have some areas that could stand some improvement; and we have some unknowns at this time that could impact upon us.
 
All of the points I am going to raise are directed towards three things: continue to do the things that we do; build a strong platform of succession and longevity; and take those first critical steps to reversing the downward trend in our membership.
 
I do plan to complete my talk well before 1:00 a.m.  At that time I will ask you for your comments on what I have said and to add any other matters that we need to pay attention to this year.
 
Fellowship

1. Fellowship is the foundation and the lifeblood of our club, and Rotary in general. And if you ask any Rotarian why they joined Rotary and why they stay in Rotary, you can be almost assured that one of the things they will say is fellowship. And fellowship was one of the main reasons why Rotary was formed some 110 years ago. The intent was: to get to know people in your community; build business contacts and connections; have ready access to a pool of expertise and knowledge; and expand your scope of influence. In short, you build a network. 

A network is, in and of itself, a resource. It has value: personally and professionally. This year I leaned on that network related to our work at RAP to significantly enhance our performance management system. And many people will join a group or a club because of the value they receive from being part of that network.

But a network does not just happen; everyone has to do their part.

2. Attendance is important – you need to be here.

When you were invited to join Rotary, it was because we felt you were the right person to represent your classification; but also to expand our pool of knowledge, expertise and experience. 

I also wish to remind all of us that when you were inducted as a member of the Club, you agreed to a number of objects of Rotary; and the first was “the development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service”. It is a promise you made to sustain the fellowship we all want, the connections we enjoy, and create the capacity to serve. 

It is reasonable to say that you cannot fulfill that promise if you are not here. I feel that our average attendance record and the readership of emails and communications is not where it should be. I will be interested to hear your perspective on this in a few minutes.

You also cannot fulfill that promise if you do not read the communications that are sent to you.

Everyone understands that life happens; and that personal health, family and work can make it difficult for members to attend the Club meeting every week and read every email. 

I intend to track and report our overall attendance record from time to time, just to keep it on our collective radar. And I ask that when you are considering not attending a meeting or deleting an email without reading it, that you weight the reason for doing that against the promise you made to contribute to the fellowship of the club. And I’ll let the 4-way test guide you after that.

 

3. The broader network

I have been referring to our Club’s network; but the same applies to the broader network within our city and our district. All five clubs, representing 160 Rotarians in this city, share a mutual desire to interact more often.

This topic was discussed at our Presidents’ Council on August 20th. The gist seemed to be to have functions where we could get to know each other and celebrate Rotary events and projects. I reported out to you on those events at our August 27th general meeting.

I would also suggest that we also take every opportunity to network with Rotarians throughout the district. 

 

This is an area that all clubs agree requires some immediate attention. I know that we do not do what we do solely for recognition. However, in order to serve our community well, support from the community is vital. That support from the community is being drawn upon from many sources. So if we are to sustain our share of that support (put another way, our market share) we need to tell the public what we do and the impact we have on the well being of those we serve.

We have two initiatives currently underway targeted at this very critical aspect of our capacity to serve:
1. We are fortunate to have a Public Image Committee, with Bev Johnson as our PR Director. Regrettably because of health issues, Bev has to step aside for a while. However, the Committee has put considerable effort and thought into a plan of action on this front over the past year. The Board of Directors has also allocated $5,000 within our budget to put this plan into action.

I am pleased that Drew Buyers has stepped up to lead the PI Committee while Bev is away. He has committed to assembling the work of the Committee over the past year and presenting a PI Plan to the Board and membership very soon. Members of the Committee also plan to be at the Strategic Planning session and bringing forth what they have learnt over the past year into the discussion. I look forward to Drew’s report, to the related discussion from the Strategic Planning session and the response from the other Clubs.

2. Pavilion in Rotary Park

Due to a successful Centennial Dinner Celebration and commitment from all five Rotary Clubs, we have close to $55,000 at the ready to invest in the construction of this project. The latest revisions to the original estimate now stand at $120,000. Initial commitments for in-kind contributions have been advanced from two suppliers.

The immediate priority is to complete detailed design and cost estimates, and determine if there is sufficient community support to fill our resource deficit with contributions in kind. 

We have a sign in Rotary Park that indicates that this pavilion will be built soon. So, for me, our credibility is on the line. We need to get on with the project or abandon it and redirect our legacy funds from the Centennial Dinner to something else.
 

I have talked a lot about this great network, this great resource that we have, founded on fellowship. How do we harness this great network? 

 

And we do engage our members. When you think about all of the projects and activities that we do in this Club and through all five club in Saskatoon, we can easily stand tall and proud about all that we give back to our community. And we are being recognized for this through the Saskatchewan Premier’s Service Club Award that will be presented to all of us at the November 22nd RAP AGM and 15th Anniversary celebration. Sometimes, when I do mentally go through all the things that we do, I must admit I shake my head, wipe my brow, and wonder “How in the hell to we do all of this and keep doing all of this with the resources that we have?”

 

Also, “Can we keep doing this?” What do we invest in to get full engagement and the best use of that resource?

 

So let me place a list for discussion: nurturing leadership; having a plan; and being organized.
​
1. Nurturing Leadership – supportive environment, access to training, and provide opportunities for people to step up

Rotary does offer a significant amount of leadership training avenues, There are endless training sessions available on line, through District Leadership Assemblies, and just talking to the Rotarian sitting next to you.

I am also of the view that there are many opportunities to step up and undertake some form of leadership position or undertaking. We have one such position right now; being that of Vice President; committee members to help Wayne Storozuk with the sale of Food Cards; and Dave Sundby has asked for help with the Enchanted Forest fundraiser.

 

Where I do feel we fall a little short is the supportive environment which would make members who step up confident that they are not alone. From my observations and experience, when you take on a leadership role, everyone is happy for you,  appreciative of your commitment to serve and gives you a hardy slap on the back. But then, you get the sense that people a busy (have things to do; people to see) and their support is limited to wishing you well with your undertaking and being anxious to hear how things went at some point in the future. And so you feel a little abandoned. And that is what makes people leery of raising their hand. 

I think more members would step up if those around them not only thanked them for stepping up and continuously said: “Oh, by the way, call me anytime if you need a hand with anything.”

 

This is one of the topics I would like to discuss at a brain storming session of our club at one of our general assemblies. I certainly want to continue with receiving reports from our directors; but I also think it would be good to have some frank discussions on topics such as leadership supportive environment as well.

 

2. Have a plan – common understanding of our vision, targets/goals, action priorities and opportunities to engage.

The power of a common plan is to align and coordinate our respective efforts: The district is aligned with RI; the clubs in the District are aligned with the district; and the clubs in Saskatoon are aligned with each other. The more aligned and coordinated we are towards common goals and targets, the greater the impact we will have on those needs in our community.

I also believe that having a formal plan will be of great assistance to each of us in promoting rotary and answering the question: “What is Rotary? What does Rotary Do?”

 

I am extremely pleased that Strategic Planning has finally hit the radar. The District is currently circulating its initial draft of its Strategic Plan. The five clubs in Saskatoon have realized the potential of working together and are currently doing so on a number of fronts. And on September 15th, the five clubs have arranged for a foundation meeting to develop a Strategic Plan for the five Clubs in Saskatoon.

 

My understanding is that, Ken Thiessen, our session facilitator, will focus the group on listing the critical questions we should be asking ourselves as an organization if we wish to move forward and be what we want to be. I am hoping from there, we can start setting priorities and a foundation for future strategic planning sessions. 

 

All of the five clubs have already expressed an interest in coordinating our Public Image efforts. Also a five-club brain storming session. Examples are on the website.

 

The details and background are on our website. I ask that you register your intent to attend with me and I will pass on the numbers to the Strategic Planning Committee. 

So I urge all of you to attend. If you cannot attend, at least take a moment, and list two or three questions you would like to see considered at this session. Pass those on to me or others who will be attending.  

 

3. Organization structure that maximizes the capacity of our network: organizes work, facilitates decision-making, promotes communication, monitors progress and celebrates success.

The merger discussions – organization structure options to maximize capacity

This whole discussion started off as a constructive exercise to self-evaluate;: explore and learn about the workings of our network; challenge ourselves on how we can best use our network; and most important, convert that knowledge into workable and coordinated actions for renewal.

 

This is most important. We need to actually do something different and do something aggressive if we are going to boost our capacity from what it is now.

 

Unfortunately, it appears to have morphed into this polarization of Rotarians in our community. I listen to the comments at various meetings and in one-on-one conversations with various Rotarians and I hear that some Rotarians are saying that they will quite rotary if we merge; while others are saying that they will quite Rotary if we do not merge or do something significantly different. It really saddens me that this constructive process has turned into a loose/loose proposition. 

It may be that the merger proposal is not right for us right now. BUT, I sense there is a consensus that the status quo is no longer right for us now. So, if it is not one or the other, what is an option? I suggest that each of you think about that, simply because we cannot risk the situation where the merger vote does not pass; leaving the status quo as the resulting decision; but knowing that we agree that the status quo is not going to serve us long term. We need to have a positive jump off point from there if that turns out to be the case.
 

The last topic is, not surprisingly, membership. I am sure this is a topic that every president before me and every board in our history have placed predominately in their presentations and agenda. 

And, of course, the key question is how do we attract and recruit new members as well as retain all of our current members. 

The answer is not just one single thing. I could start off by saying “all of the above”. If we do everything I have just talked about today, and we do it well, that will go a long way towards achieving our membership goals. If we want people to come into our organization, we have to demonstrate that we do, and can, take care of business.

 

And I am sure our Membership Committee will bring forward a few more suggestions. But first and foremost, you need to ask someone. You need to ask someone to join Rotary; but you can also start off by asking them if they would like to be a Friend of Rotary or you can ask them to join us at one of weekly meetings to listen to one of the great speakers that Gary and his committee will line up for us. And although that may not  result in that person asking to join Rotary, it will result in one more person knowing about Rotary and what we do and they will help spread the word about who we are and what we do; and that may result in a membership lead.

 

So the challenge I throw out to each of you is to invite one person to a Rotary meeting a couple times over the course of the next 10 months.  Just look at Huey-Ming. She has brought at least a half a dozen people to our club meetings since she has joined our club. 
 

The intent of all of this is to focus our efforts to ensure Rotary stays relevant, is visible within the community, and becomes an organization that will attract people to get involved and give back to our community. We need to build that flashing neon sign that says: “Apply here!”

 

With that, I wish to thank you for your attention, and invite you to comment on what I have said; present your perspective on some of these points; or add your priorities.

 

I decided I wanted to convey three messages:
 
1. If we want a great club, we all need to step up and participate.
2. We all need to see the leadership roles as personal opportunities to share our expertise or learn from the experience; rather than something to avoid and hope someone else will take it on.
3. The Strategic Planning and merger discussions are very valuable exercises for our club; as they would be for any organization. No matter the outcome of either on these two specifics process; we should continue to foster self-evaluation and renewal. The status quo is not a long-term sustainability strategy.
4. We need to start the practice of brainstorming sessions at our general meetings. We need to have frank discussions about our club if we wish to get to where we want to go."

 

Thank you Paul for your service and commitment and for a well run meeting.