D.G. BRET V. RECALLS A GREAT CONFERENCE
From Bret Vaterlaus...............
The District Conference for 2013 held in Sun Valley is officially over. Attendance was really good with many first time attendees. There were many things to do
and the Rotarians took advantage of the exciting opportunities. Even the weather cooperated with the exception of a hail storm during our group picture.
The conference started off with a meeting of the past district governors , major donors, bequest society members, and benefactors attending an evening social. Everyone was encouraged to continue their support through foundation giving and we heard from John Brainerd our Rotary International President’s Representative to our conference. Friday morning our district leaders met in the District Leadership Council. During this meeting the updated Rotary International District 5400 Policy and Procedure Manual was approved and adopted along with the other business of the council.
The main events of the conference started at noon on Friday. The speakers were wonderful. Following the lunch and speakers we participated in making blankets as a service project. In about thirty minutes sixty blankets were competed.
During the afternoon we held the Rotary Academy with three different speakers and many round tables discussion groups. Quite a few members attended the computer and social media classes. Marianne Barker was very busy at her table helping incoming presidents get ready for their upcoming year. Membership was another table that had a lot of interaction with the leader Terry Bowman.
Friday evening was the 60’s-70’s dress up dinner. We saw everything from leisure suites to bell bottoms and go-go boots to nurse’s uniforms. We had several Rotarians that we did not recognize with their long hair and beards. Our speaker from the UN was very informative. She helped us understand that it is the smaller things we do to promote peace that count the most. Everyone enjoyed her down to earth approach. The awards from RI and from the district were announced and presented and there were even a few awards given for the costumes that were worn. A side note: We have a fantastic pianist, Rick Phillips. He played time period music all night long. At one point we had Charles Weymouth, Phil Drick and Don Acheson joining Rick Phillips singing some memorable songs of our younger years. You just cannot plan those kinds of experiences. The day closed with the House of Friendship sponsored by Blue Lakes-Twin Falls.
Saturday morning we started off with presentations from Gene Hoge on the new grant management model. He was followed by Stephanie Meyer, our ambassadorial scholar. Next we heard from Saeid Rezaii who helped us understand RYLA. We then had the opportunity to meet all of the outgoing and the current inbound exchange students. As usual, this is one of the highlights of the annual conference.
Our lunch speaker Dr. Lisa Brady spoke about the demilitarized zone in Korea. Our RI Rep spoke again and inspired us all to do more in Rotary. At the conclusion we were set free to enjoy Sun Valley. There was cooking, hiking, biking, messages, yoga, movies, etc. Everyone had a great time and the weather was sunny and warm.
We wrapped up the evening with fine dining and hearing from Marianne Barker. I even got a few words during the evening. All in all, the conference had a feeling of fun and learning with a good mix of Rotary in all of it. Thanks to everyone who made the event possible and a memorable experience.
Hope to see you all there next year.