Merrigan: Thoughts on RI Convention

Thoughts on the RI Convention in Sydney
By Bob Merrigan, 2014-15 Club President

How do you try to convey a first-time RI Convention – let alone the first time experience of Australia – in a few short paragraphs for the newsletter? It’s impossible … but I hope I have time over the next few weeks to share anecdotes and learnings with you.

For me, the opening session set the tone. First off, there were two opening plenary sessions because the arena in Olympic Park couldn’t accommodate the entire crowd of almost 19,000 attendees.  One of the presenters was Tommy Spaulding, a well-known U.S. author, speaker and entrepreneur who shared a story from his childhood. Tommy struggled in school, and so was delighted when he won a scholarship to attend a Rotary summer camp. A neighbor – a Rotarian who became a lifelong friend and mentor – drove him to camp and in the process told him, “There are three kinds of people: leaders, followers, and critics. Which do you want to be?”

I spent the next three days surrounded by leaders. Sydney provided free transportation and each day we spent 30 to 40 minutes on the train, traveling from the Central Business District to Olympic Park. On my first ride I sat across from a couple from Northern California; this was their sixth convention, she was a past president of her club, a past District Governor, and was getting ready to begin another term as president.  I talked to incoming presidents from Texas, from Oregon, from Australia, and who knows where else and it was amazing how many common experiences we shared as we talked about our individual clubs. I went to a number of great sessions (which by the way, are ones I defined as ones that challenge me to do more … and I’ll admit, by day three I wasn’t sure if I wanted to choose another session that looked good or not!).

Nonetheless, and as fair warning, among my favorites were a session by Michael McQueen on “Winning the Battle for Relevance” (in which he essentially challenged attendees to examine club traditions with an eye toward which “traditions” included or excluded prospective new members), a presentation on using Facebook (and we’re not the only club that makes the mistake of using the medium to talk to itself), and a couple of sessions facilitated by the Peace Fellowship (there are some clubs doing amazing work in promoting conflict resolution in urban settings).

A speaker at one of the last sessions I went to – a symposium for incoming presidents – advised to “always be a cheerleader for your club.” I was struck by the fact that this is the least of my worries. We have such a tremendous amount of strength and experience in our club, it’s hard to be anything but proud of it.  I’m grateful … both for the support I received to help underwrite the travel and, more importantly, for the opportunity to serve as your president. I look forward to the coming year.  Thank you! 

(Pictured: The Sydney Opera House, which was brilliantly lighted with changing lights during the Convention. Photo by Cassy Venters.)