In April our club’s current board members and officers, along with those coming on board on July 1, held a planning session to get organized for the coming year. We discussed how we function as a team and keep learning together. We viewed portions of a webinar on courageous leadership and exchanged ideas about leadership and change. We also set goals for the coming year based on our strategic plan and District and Rotary International plans.

One of the areas we talked about was what we could do as the club’s leadership team to ensure that every member of the club feels valued and is able to contribute to the club in a way that is meaningful for him or her. We came up with the idea of “Board Buddies.”

So soon you will receive a call, an email message, a text or a tap on the shoulder at a club meeting from your Board Buddy. Each board member has five or six members to get to know better. 

Your Board Buddy will ask about the best way or ways to stay regularly in contact with you. He or she will want to learn about your interests and strengths and how you may wish to use them to support the club’s priorities. Your buddy will also be seeking your feedback periodically on matters affecting the club and will seek to become aware of business or personal events and provide recognition or support when appropriate.

I am looking forward to reaching out to my buddies by the end of the month. I am excited about learning more about them and how I might assist them in meeting their expectations regarding involvement and service in the coming year.