To say February was an extremely busy month would be an understatement. I know that was true for all District Governor-Elects across the Rotary world. The month started with final preparations each night before heading down to the R
otary International Assembly in Orlando for a week-long DG training with approximately 1,200 people in attendance. Besides all the DGEs from countries around the world, trainers, support staff, etc., there were many of the senior Rotary leaders in attendance. This included our current President Stephanie Urchick, President-Elect Mário César Martins de Camargo, the Rotary Directors, and many Past Presidents like Jennifer Jones and Holger Knaack, just to mention a couple. All were readily available to meet and talk about all Rotary topics. This really helped all of us DGEs focus on goals that we're developing for our year, which was one of the central purposes for attending IA.
The week was filled with great speakers in the general sessions and many daily training sessions in classroom settings with different people each day. While we learned many things about Rotary and our role as DG, we also had a lot of time to get to know each other, exchange thoughts and ideas, and create lasting friendships. You can imagine that with people from all over the world, there were many languages being spoken and some challenges, but interestingly, it wasn't much of a problem. Many were at least fairly fluent in English, Rotary had audio translator devices for the general sessions, and smartphone apps really helped. By about day two or three, you were speaking with everyone in some way or another without too much difficulty. It was an experience that everyone should have an opportunity to enjoy! Everyone really enjoyed every moment and made the most of it.
The evenings were highlighted with dinner events, one of which was World Culture Night. We sat out under the stars on a beautiful Florida evening, enjoyed music and food from all around the world, and experienced lots of camaraderie with our new friends. The connections and networking opportunities were endless, especially that evening with everyone enjoying the event. I came home with some 180 business cards of people that I met and got to know. Many of these people are dealing with the same ebbs and flows that our clubs deal with and are interested in working together on global grant opportunities, fellowships, and youth exchange programs. Now my task is to keep the connections going and help foster connections across our district.
After returning home with little time to rest, I had some time to put the final touches on my DG goals for 2025-26 and finalize plans for our annual District Team Training Seminar. This year, it was held at the Kalahari Resort in the Wisconsin Dells. We had 22 Rotarians, who came together for a half day with lots of enthusiasm and g
reat discussions. What an amazing group of leaders that we have in our district! We also had some great guest speakers, including Emily Tucker, RI Membership Director; Past District Governor Ben Bauer on RYLA; Dean Ryerson on our District Visioning Process; and Past District Governor Edwin Bos provided updates on the Fellowship Exchange. I also shared my DG goals, which in short are as follows:
- Advancing Our Action Plan: Club and District succession plans (3 years). Club growth: 5 new clubs by 2026 (traditional, satellite, cause-based, Rotaract, etc.). Expand the Membership committee to focus on Club Growth, Rotaract & Retention.
- Sharing the Value of Rotary: Promote clubs to share their story. Broaden our social media impact. Explore new ways, methods, and channels to deliver.
- The Club Experience: Explore / attract younger members, diverse groups, and regain past members. Promote and develop a Rotaract and Youth Advisory Council, who will share a voice at District meetings. Expand Club Visioning throughout the District.
- Coaching for Inclusivity: Focus on our 4-Way Test. Be respectful to everyone. Be supportive and support diversity of all kinds. Continue to foster a welcoming and inclusive environment.
- The Impact of our Service: Develop an active District Project Summary site. Encourage clubs to bring ideas forward and expand collaboration between clubs. Promote and utilize the new Service Project Center.
- Doing Good in the World: Continue to promote TRF / DDF / Polio Plus. Explore and develop ways to simplify and clarify. Explore our major donors, tap into new and fully utilize existing donors.
- Our Year Ahead: Finish strong with the $1,000,000 Journey & Dinner. Launch $100,000 Polio Plus Drive. Launch Membership Olympics. Continue to promote World Peace & Fellowship and Mental Health. Develop/Execute a plan to better support, train, grow, and utilize the Assistant Governor team.
Lastly, to round out the month, we had Midwest Presidents-Elect Training (PETS) in Itasca, IL. We had about 430 people in attendance, with about 35 of our President-Elects (PEs) joining, along with other club members, such as President-Elect Nominees, Secretaries, Assistant Governors, some Committee Chairs (Public Image, Membership, and Foundation), and our DG Line. In all, we had about 60 people representing District 6250. A big thanks to all who attended and made it a great event! (We also had several PEs that attended the Northern Central PETS in the Twin Cities and a few others that will be attending the virtu
al option in late April.)
There were many great things to say about PETS this year, from the fun and enthusiasm of our group to the great workshops offered, which I have included a link below to check it out for yourself. One of the best things that we all enjoyed and gained so much from were the great speakers: Nicki Scott, Past RI Director and Vice President; Taylor Huie, RI Membership Growth Committee; Salvador Rizzo Tavares, RI Director; Ed Futa, Past RI General Secretary; and Gary Metivier, Story Teller. You can listen to all of them from the link: https://midwestpets.org/training-resources/.
The big takeaways expressed to the President-Elects and their Assistant Governor support team were:
- Know and use your resources across District 6250 and beyond. From the Committee Chairs leading Foundation, Membership & Public Image to our Visioning Team, Youth Exchange, Friendship Exchange to the District Governor line, we are all here to help support the clubs.
- Goals! They are important because they provide motivation, clarity of direction, a way to measure progress, and a sense of accomplishment by giving you a target to work towards, thus keeping you focused and accountable on your desired outcomes, ultimately leading to increased productivity and personal satisfaction.
In closing, I am working on my final preparations for the 2025-26 Rotary year. I have started mapping out plans to visit all our great clubs and am in the process of reaching out to our President-Elects to get dates on the calendar. I am really looking forward to getting out to meet all of our clubs and see all of the great things Rotarians do to make this world a better place for all!
Respectfully yours,
Michael Kloss
D6250
District Governor-Elect 2025-26