It was with much excitement that I went off to the MA PETS event this past weekend…and I’m not writing about a weekend with my favorite dog!
(L-R: Tom & Janet Kolepp, Sarah Bergin)
MA PETS is a Rotary International acronym for “Mid-Atlantic President Elect Training Seminar”. PETS is a very different training experience that intends to provide attendees with the important information needed to lead a Rotary club. This weekend event included local districts, 7390, 7450, 7505 and us – 7430. Just under 300 people were in attendance.
Now let me remind you how I got to this point in my Rotary career. In 2012, Steve Hunsberger approached me at church and asked me to consider joining Rotary. This intrigued me, because I was looking for non-faith-based networking opportunities. Well, little did I know, he also was talking to other church members Suzi Berry and Karla Myers about joining our club! It may be difficult to believe, but Suzi, Karla and myself knew of each other – but we were not close. Remarkably, we all decided to join…and we were not the first women to join our club but we were the only women in the club for several years.
As I recall, within a year or two, we were all approached to consider “running the leadership chairs”. Suzi, who seemed to know more of the membership, agreed to follow Leon Moyer in 2018 - 19. During another conversation , I recall saying, “I think it is important that a woman be president the year our club turns 100.” When I said this, our club turning 100 was a LONG way away. With this commitment, our club had presidents lined up from 2018 to 2025. I learned this weekend that a successful Rotary club has a strong leadership succession!
In my mind…I was kind of keeping my presidential year on the “back burner”. When Karla was president in 2021-22 – I realized I needed to start paying more attention. I recall her returning from MAPETS rather “charged up” and ready to take on her year. This was the attitude I took with me to King of Prussia this past weekend – I was ready to mingle and learn more about being the BEST president ever!
This year, the big buzz was to arrive on Thursday so you could meet Mário César Martins de Camargo, who will be President of Rotary International during my year, 2025 - 26. Mario spoke to us “off the cuff” – and shared at length about how clubs around the globe, except in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Ukraine, are declining in membership. I was a bit disappointed after his sharing. In my non-profit world, I always look to hear where “the money is being spent” – in this case I would have enjoyed hearing the success off projects. So, after a quick selfie with Mario, I headed to the bar to socialize and make new acquaintances! It was a lively location! The hotel was sold out and full of PECO line-workers who were repairing electrical lines in our area! I quickly realized from my networking, that I indeed was a more “senior” Rotary Member. Most of the President-Elects I encountered had less than 5 years with their clubs.
The next morning started off with a bang with Herb Klotz (Past District Governor 7430) walking us through the steps for developing a 3 Year Plan. Lucky for us, Kate Hoath with Rick Kowey have been leading strategic planning session with a small group of ST Rotary Members for several months. (You’ll hear more about this at the upcoming April Annual Meeting.) I sat back feeling rather accomplished that we were well on our way.
(Julia Phelps presentation, the center photo is from 2018; myself and Julia getting reconnected!)
I was pleasantly surprised to have our club mentioned by Julia Phelps during her presentation. Julia was a Rotary Foundation Trustee and a Past Rotary International Director and a member of the Rotary Club of Amesbury MA. Suzi, Karla and I had the pleasure of picking her up when she came to visit our club in 2018 – and when we did, we created some fun signs to pick her up at the airport. She included those photos as part of this weekend’s presentation – it was great! Julia is a gifted speaker who shared with us the success of the projects she has been a part of here in the US and also around the globe. Definitely an hour that inspired me about the greater work of Rotary.
(Bill Tuszynski with Shelter Box, Liz Herman, myself and Sherry Campanelli)
Two other ST Rotary members were also in attendance. Liz Herman, who was supporting District 7430 Area 6 Presidents and Steve Kendra was doing his best to recruit other clubs to host a speaker to learn about Rotoplast. (sorry Steve – forgot your photo!). One of the strong positives about Rotary conferences is the opportunity to network. As part of one of the speakers’ challenges, we had 5 minutes to exchange a trinket with another person in the room. The goal was to create a supportive network through next year. I look forward to getting to know President Elect Sherry Campanelli from the Medford Sunrise Rotary Club in District 7505 better!
Now about the PELS I mentioned in the title….Going forward, this event will be rebranded to eliminate the regional area from the title. Next year it will be called Liberty PELS (President Elect Leadership Seminar). It will include a larger range of area Rotary Districts.
Overall, I found this weekend strong on leadership development opportunities. One of the final sessions for future Presidents talked about how each club and club member falls into one of these categories:
15% - Everything is great
15% - Everything is great
35% - Pretty Good
35% - Adequate
15% - Struggling
The point of the conversation was how to focus your energy as the leader. Don’t let the 15% who are struggling make the entire club suffer. Address issues and motivate members to contribute to the success of the club. I’ve thought about these categories a lot – not only with Rotary, but also with my leadership role at Care & Share.
I’d like to THINK our club is at the “Pretty Good” stage. Perhaps you disagree with me.
But what I really want you to think about – where are YOU when you think about your participation with our club? How can I help you move into the “Pretty Good” and perhaps the “Everything is GREAT” category?
Thank you for being a part of our club! I look forward to hearing your questions and comments!
Of course....my favorite part is the networking! Here are some of the other great people I got to connect with:
District Governor 7430 Elect Mary Cook with Amy Sheller
President Elect Tara Bevivino from the Ambler Rotary Club
From District 7450: Past District Governor Dave Haradon and District Governor Elect Jan Biros