“Rooted in Service” District 5930 Conference Part 2 & 3
On Saturday, May 9, 2020 several Alice Rotarians participated in part 2 of this year’s Rotary District 5930’s “Rooted in Service” District Conference. With the world in the mixed-up way we currently find it this conference was held via ZOOM. In my opinion this afforded us the opportunity to expand the experience by increasing the audience and including speakers that we may never have been able to hear deliver their message.
By utilizing this technology, not only did we have Rotarian's from all over South Texas, but there were participates from around the world. Guest speakers came to us live from their homes or places of work from places like Canada, India, Pakistan, Russia and more.
This experience was insightful, informational and most of all fun!
Even before Our District Governor DG Ellison Crider welcomed everyone, the ZOOM conference experience began with great fellowship between members while others logged on. To get the ball rolling and get everyone involved, we then participated in a survey style game using Kahoot.it that helped with our strategic planning. This survey utilized the computer and our smartphones to answer questions asked by our speaker and allow for the answer data to collected and displayed. It let us know where we are today in Rotary and how we feel things are going in our Club and District.
“Our Vision – Our Path”, was the topic of keynote speakers. They lead us through a fun interactive session as we develop a shared vision for the future. The Key note speakers included Mary McQueen, Fay Crider and Zehra Surani.
Next on the agenda was a session called “We are Rooted in Service.” This is an opportunity for individuals to share their story as to how the ways they can provide service to their local and global communities. The primary focus on this session was really to address what is going on with COVID-19 and it was led by Rotary International Vice President Yinka Babalola.
Wrapping up a great morning, PDG Chris Offer, RI President’s Representative presented “Greetings from Rotary International”.
For more information on any of these topics you are invited to check out the District 5930 website (https://rotary5930.org) and have a read.
Then came Part III
Saturday, May 16, 2020 dealt us Part 3 of the District Conference, and this time it was the individual clubs time to shine. It was the opportunity for each club to give a presentation on what they are doing to make a difference in the world. While we at from the Alice Rotary did not participate by giving a presentation we were recognized in our effects and the service we do not only locally but globally.
Several clubs across South Texas took the time to either speak or present a video about their hard work and dedication. Topics for these include things like adoption, youth interaction, COVID-19, scholarships, food drives and much, much more. To see all the change being made and lives being affected was awe inspiring and, in some cases, would leave a little tear in the eye.
Not all but most of these stories can be seen by checking out the Rotary District 5930 YouTube Channel, (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6kp9gPeHdu7JAqKB7J97uA/videos). For inspiration on how a difference can be made please check out the videos and let us know what we can do to help.
Needless to say, both of these were very informative and fun mornings shared with many other Service Above Self Rotarian's across the world.