Before the long portion of my monthly letter, I want to remind everyone that registration for Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is open. This is a great one-week program that can have a positive impact on a student for their entire life. Please learn more by visiting our RYLA website page! RYLA this year will be at Hiram College from June 8-12!
After a long winter, it looks like spring may actually be arriving! With spring comes our District Conference of Clubs and Leadership Assembly which is open to every Rotarian and your guest! This annual gathering provides wonderful opportunities for celebration, learning, inspiration and fellowship.
Our conference this year will be at the Marriott East in Warrensville Heights on Friday, April 25 and Saturday, April 26. You can register by clicking here for the event and also you will see a link for the hotel (if you desire to stay overnight). I particularly like the layout of this hotel for our event. Our House of Friendship - displays of projects and other areas of interest - will be just outside the ballroom where social time will occur, and you will gather between events.
Friday will start with our traditional Celebration of Life for the Rotarians we have lost in the last year. We will have our annual district business meeting between the Celebration and lunch. Our speaker at lunch will be Scott Simon, author of Scare Your Soul: 7 Powerful Principles to Harness Fear and Lead Your Most Courageous Life. Scott will talk about conquering anxiety by planfully facing your fears on a daily basis. On Friday afternoon, we will have learning assembly sessions on subjects including mental health and anxiety, growing Rotary and our impact, and public image. On Friday evening we will have social time and informal buffet stations with a magician moving from group to group through the evening performing magic just for you! The Geauga West Club will be hosting a hospitality suite to continue the fellowship to close the night.
Saturday morning will open with a buffet breakfast followed by learning sessions on growth, companion clubs, youth exchange and a very fun Rotary 101 Jeopardy-style game. Our lunch will be our Celebration of Youth with Interact, Youth Exchange and Four-Way Test Speech Contest winners. On Saturday afternoon we will have President-Elect and Leadership 6630 sessions. In parallel with those sessions, a representative from ClubRunner will be in a breakout room to answer your questions about ClubRunner and the new platform known as Nova. In another breakout area, members of our Youth Protection Committee will be addressing your questions on youth protection and training.
At dinner on Saturday, we will have a panel discussion during which we discuss how our various organizations can work together to make Northeast Ohio an even better place to live. Our 1630+ members in Northeast Ohio recognize the power of partnerships. This panel is the beginning of a conversation about creating strong partnerships between service and philanthropic organizations in Northeast Ohio. Participants in the panel are: Karen Hrdlicka, Director, The Center for Family Philanthropy at the Akron Community Foundation, Brenda Cummins, Director, Philanthropic Services at the Cleveland Foundation and Penny Forster, Director, Community Impact, Cleveland Guardians.
Following dinner, the Mentor Club will be hosting a hospitality suite to continue the discussion and fellowship! You can download the schedule here.
I hope to see each and every one of you there and your spouse/partners are also welcome! I promise you will have fun, learn something and be inspired to grow Rotary and make Northeast Ohio and the world a better place to live!
Dale Smith
District Governor 2024/2025
Rotary International District 6630
Past-President
Rotary Club of Mentor
The Magic of Rotary
District Governor 2024/2025
Rotary International District 6630
Past-President
Rotary Club of Mentor
The Magic of Rotary
