A message from our District Governor

Over my 35 years in Rotary, I have learned many things that apply to family, business (family business), and philanthropy.  Things that have molded me into the person that I am, such as the importance of personal and professional networks, building on the success of others, and humility. Perhaps even more important is that fellow Rotarians impressed upon me that “$’s follow service” or, said another way, “do the work first then get paid”.  Also, “fun precedes (fun)draising” or, said another way, “show your passion first then ask for donations”.

Two specific things I’ve learned on my career and life path about leading a ‘family business’, not unlike a Rotary club & district, are succession planning and how to get along while accomplishing the mission.  To the point, Rotary is a family, plain and simple. We have our moments of challenge, crisis, and celebration just like a family; I think this is often underappreciated to our own detriment.  We are far more than just a “membership organization that provides service.”  However, because we are a membership organization, we have engagement on a weekly basis (typically).  We don’t just identify projects and carry them out; we gather together, we talk face to face (typically), we have spirited discussions at times, and then we shake hands and get on with it.  We DO stuff together!  Families DO stuff together!  This is what is at the center of being a Rotarian…. we DO stuff…. we get things done to serve others and put smiles on faces….  then we celebrate together.

So, as a Rotary family, my ‘Strategic Priorities’ for our district this year are to;

1. Enhance Member Experience (“what’s in it for me”)
2. Identify, Expose, and Recruit Emerging Leaders (the next generation of the family)

To that end, I ask everyone reading this to formalize a process in your club that will, 1) measure how you touch the lives of people; 2) measure the breadth and depth of your sphere of influence in your community; 3) measure the quality of your club experience; and 4) measure how well you are doing with club culture and mechanics, specifically, how are you responding to change and the needs of the next “generation” of Rotarians.

If we work together to create a better Rotary experience and we become more attractive to the Gen X’ers and Z’ers, we will meet the “Strategic Goals” to;

1. Bring all clubs to a minimum of 20 active members.
2. Create four new clubs and begin the 2025/2026 Rotary year with a net of 100 new members.

How will we do this? Just like in school….. show and tell. It starts with showing each other what impact donations of ‘time, treasure, and talent’ are making, then developing a story and telling it to anyone who will listen. I have learned that people are attracted to energy and passion, so let’s support each other, get excited about the opportunities we have, and tell our story in every corner we have access to!

DG Tom Tochterman 2024-25