Rotary Wheel of the Week – Nathan White

NathanWhite

The Rotary Wheel of the Week for September 7, 2016 is…….Judge Nathan E. White Jr.!

Judge Nathan White is a retired State District Judge for the State of Texas who served in the District Courts in Collin County.  Although officially retired from the bench he is in great demand as a visiting judge throughout Texas.

He is an outstanding Rotarian who is currently serving McKinney Sunrise Rotary Club as the Rotary Foundation Chair.  He is a Past President of the Plano Rotary Club during the 1975-76 year and is a Past President of the McKinney Sunrise Rotary Club during the 2009-10 year.  Judge White had the distinction of serving as the District Governor of Rotary District 5810 during 1979-80.  At that time he was the youngest person who had served as District Governor of 5810.  He joined Rotary at the age of 29 and has been a member of Rotary with Perfect Attendance for 45 years!  That is a record in the McKinney Sunrise Rotary Club!  He was also named Plano Citizen of the Year in 1986.

Judge White was born in Dallas and is married to Wanda who is a retired Plano ISD elementary schoolteacher.  They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in February 2014 with a lovely reception at their church in McKinney which was attended by friends and Rotarians all over North Texas.  The couple has two adult sons, Steve and Brad, both of whom are married and who live in the area.  Their precious grandchildren are twin girls Averi and Ashley, age 13, and Aden, age 11.

He has the distinction of two degrees, a BBA in Accounting from Southern Methodist University and a Juris Doctorate from George Washington University and the SMU School of Law.  An avid fan of all things SMU, you will find Wanda and Nathan at the SMU Mustang football games this fall! They also like to travel and have visited 81 countries –many of which were for Rotary International Conventions.  Judge White and Wanda are also active in the Sons of the American Revolution and have held many offices in this organization. Their interest in history is also extended with their hobby of genealogy.

Judge Nathan and Wanda will host our annual fall Social at their lovely home in Mallard Lakes on September 16.  McKinney Sunrise Rotary Club is fortunate to have Judge Nathan White as a valued member of our club. Thank you, Judge White, for all that you do for Rotary, your family, your church and your community!

Juli Smith – Rotary Wheel of the Week

Julie Smith

Appropriately, the first Rotary Wheel of the Week for July 6, 2016 is……..JULI SMITH!  Juli is the President of McKinney Sunrise Rotary Club for this coming year.  She also served as the President-Elect this past year and was in charge of inviting community members to present a program.  In previous years she served as the Club Secretary.  Juli was inducted in the McKinney Sunrise Rotary Club ten years ago, and this human dynamo works to make all our programs successful!  Juli has been one of the driving forces with all three McKinney Rotary Clubs to plan the All-Abilities Playground at Bonnie Wenk Park and the establishment of the McKinney Sunrise Rotary Foundation, a 501 (c ) 3 organization to receive charitable funds.    After one year, almost three-fifths of the needed funding of over $500,000 has been raised.

Juli is also on the Flag Committee and receives the flag orders and payments by check to enter in the flag database.  Since McKinney Sunrise Rotary Club has over 2,000 flags, this is no small feat to manage the database so that it is correct.  (Subscribers get upset if they are missed because they were not entered properly in the database!)

Juli is married to Floyd Smith who is retired.  She has three children:  Larry, Paul and Jolene all of whom are grown and have families of their own.  Juli attended the University of California at San Jose and majored in English, and the University of North Texas, majoring in Gerontology, where she was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree.  She worked in Marketing for 30 years at Overhead Door Corporation/Bozel and Jacobs and Monster Company.  Now retired, she worked for 10 years for the Collin County Committee on Aging.

Few people know that Juli played competitive sports in high school before Title IX made it mandatory to include girls who excelled in sports.  She was the editor of her high school journalism paper that won recognition as #1 in the state of California.  Juli and her husband love to travel and have been to England, Scotland, France, China, Italy, the Caribbean islands, and Mexico.  If she had one day to herself, she would probably read a good book, not answer the phone, or go on the computer!  Good advice!

Congratulations, Juli! Wishing you a great year as the President of McKinney Sunrise Rotary Club!

Bill Smith – Rotary Wheel of the Week

bills

The “Rotary Wheel of the Week” for July 13, 2016, is………..William (Bill) Smith, Jr.!

Although he is a tall Texan, who was born in Atlanta, Texas, this friendly man can spin the most hilarious Cajun tales that will have you rolling in the aisle!  When telling a story, he often assumes the role of Boudreax from Slidell, LA.

Bill is married to the beautiful Cheryl (whose occupation is “grandmother”) and the couple has two adult daughters and four whip-smart grandchildren whose ages range from 1 ½ years to age 12.  A graduate of the University of North Texas, Bill received at BBA degree in Marketing and he played college Tennis as a student at Texarkana Jr. College.  He is currently a financial representative for Northwestern Mutual.

In addition to his family, Bill has two loves:  Golf and Rotary.  He is a Co-VP for the Flag Program and you can find his buddy, Chuck Koehler, and Bill out and about installing flags before each major holiday. The McKinney Sunrise Rotary Flag program would fall apart without the dedication of these two Rotarians! He is also a Past President of McKinney Sunrise Rotary Club having served in 2012.

Bill’s community service is enviable.  He was a member of the Slidell, LA Chamber Leadership Program and served as the President of the Class.  He also served five years on the Children’s Advocacy Council for The Hope House of Mandeville, LA, and served as Chair of their Board for 2 years.  He was a past president of the Slidell, LA Rotary Club before moving to McKinney.

In spite of their busy family lives, Rotary service, and community involvement, Bill and Cheryl take time to travel and have visited England, South America, Mexico, Canada and Bermuda.   As the Rotary Wheel of the Week, Bill will receive a “free ticket” for the drawing to add to the string of tickets he generally buys!  Please join me in applauding Bill Smith!

What Kind of Leader Are You?

What Kind of Leader Are You?

By Sandra Froese, Director of Club Service, 2016-17

McKinney Sunrise Rotary Club

Summer and fall are generally times of changes in leadership of organizations with new officers. You have just been elected an officer (president or chair) of your organization. How will you prepare for your role? How will you proceed as a leader? Leaders come in many shapes and sizes as there are people with different ideas and agendas. Here are some distinct categories of leadership that are easily recognizable.

1. The “Manager” Leader
This leader type is well organized almost to a fault. Every idea, every plan, every committee decision must be approved by the designated chair or elected president who orchestrates the entire process. A calendar and budget are in place that is marked by inflexibility and resistance to change. Woe is the proposal by a member who comes up with a brilliant idea 6 months down the road!
Pros – Things get done!  Cons – The followers wait for the leader’s directions and creativity is stifled. 

2. The “Autocratic” Leader
This leader wants the membership to know and understand that he or she is “boss.” The organization and the funding mechanism are tightly controlled by the leader. Other officers are expected to follow the leader’s “top down” directives. Woe is the member who steps out with an independent action without checking with the leader!
Pros – At least things get done and deadlines are met in a controlled environment. Cons – The followers feel intimidated and unable to articulate that they feel powerless–and they are!

3. The “Laissez-faire” Leader
Everybody loves this leader type because they have been given plenty of freedom to do as they like. The conscientious members of the organization will charge on and do a good job for the organization because that is in their DNA. Slackers will tag along doing as little as possible hoping that no one will notice. Since the leader’s style is “hands off” no one notices or cares.
Pros – Some good ideas will rise to the top and will be implemented. Cons – There is a total lack of focus to motivate the organization to move in the same direction. There is no plan to evaluate for effectiveness and the organization will begin to drift.

4. The “Celebrity” Leader
Everybody recognizes this “leader” who is a self-promoter! This person joined the organization to enhance or polish his or her resume’. It is “all about me” rather than “us.” As the elected president or chair, he or she will delegate responsibilities to staff members or other board members–then leave to attend a social function to “glad hand” especially if the press is there.
Pros – At least the other officers have an opportunity to lead! Cons – The organization will flounder and not accomplish much of anything of consequence.

5. The “Servant” Leader
*This leader assesses the strengths of the members and helps them grow to become “leaders” of an office, directorship, committee or a task force. *The Servant Leader is also a teacher and mentor who value the talents of the membership. *The Servant Leader is a leader who recognizes good ideas from the membership that can be developed and executed. *The Servant Leader helps members formulate attainable goals and a plan to reach them. *A Servant Leader encourages self-evaluation as well as group evaluation of activities and projects. *A Servant Leader expects self-directed behavior and self-discipline to accomplish assigned tasks. *In summary, a Servant Leader is a “leader of leader’s.”
Pros – The members will follow a “Servant Leader” and will become leaders of their office, committee or assigned tasks. Members will be loyal to their designated leader and will contribute to the success of the organization. The Servant Leader models “service above self”-the motto of Rotary International.
Cons – Some members will be uncomfortable with the amount of freedom allowed–and will criticize the leader for not being more directive.
After reviewing the above leader types, what is your unique leadership style? You can pull the best parts of each style while working toward becoming a “Servant Leader.” It is a process of honing your skills to become effective to meet the needs of your organization. Enjoy your time as a leader as it offers unlimited opportunities for personal growth not only for you but also for your organization.

Recruiting and Retaining Members

Recruiting and Retaining Members: Food for Thought

By Sandi Froese, Director of Club Service – 2016-17

McKinney Sunrise Rotary Club 

The ideas for increasing Rotarian membership were adapted from a blog by a United Methodist pastor named The Rev. Adam Hamilton, Senior Pastor of the Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, KS. He used the analogy of choosing a restaurant as an analogy to choosing a church. I have adapted his ideas for attracting prospective members for Rotary.
The first restaurant described was an old-fashioned diner where the food was bland but consistent. They serve inexpensive meals like Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast, Panfried Liver and Onions, and Salisbury Steak with Mashed Potatoes. No one complains about the food, but no one gets excited about it either! Nothing has changed in 25 years including the waitresses. The place was nearly deserted except for four tables of people over the age of 65.
The second restaurant is in a newer part of the city and is hip with an interesting atmosphere. The waiters and cooks are friendly and the menu looks exciting. In spite of great service and a great atmosphere in a great location, the food was not bland, it was bad! Although the people were young and hip I can’t think of a reason to go back– unless to “people watch.”
The third restaurant is a great little restaurant that offers great good, great service and a pretty good atmosphere. The only problem is that no one knows about it. They are off the beaten path in a nondescript building with very little signage — and no advertising in a phone directory, website, newspaper or on social media. Only the same people who knew about this “best kept secret” keep coming.
The fourth restaurant has excellent food, great service, an inviting atmosphere, clean restrooms, and an enjoyable experience for the entire family. Kids love to go there because they have interesting selections on the menu for kids to try. The parents love it because of the camaraderie where “everyone knows my name.” Although the restaurant is busy, there is plenty of free parking and generally a short wait. It is a hit!
Of course you caught the analogy. Successful Rotary Clubs are like successful restaurants and struggling Rotary Clubs are like struggling restaurants. Read through the descriptions again! Which “restaurant” describes your Rotary club?

What are the “ingredients” and critical elements for a successful Rotary Club to continue to grow and thrive? (Listed in no particular order.)

  • Friendly, excited and energized members
  • Warm, well-maintained, updated and inviting facilities
  • Good food attractively served
  • Immediate follow up of first-time visitors
  • Relevant, interesting and inspiring programs
  • Opportunities for socializing and networking
  • Orientation of new members to get them connected
  • Captivating service projects that meet the needs of the community
  • Regular and high-quality advertising and marketing
  • A compelling vision, purpose and mission
  • Access to parking
  • Officers and leadership who are passionate about the ideals of Rotary

When a Rotary Club can pull them all together, regardless of the size of the town, demographics, or socioeconomic group, you will find a dynamic and growing membership. How can you use your talents and skills to help your Rotary Club become a growing, dynamic and exciting club that prepares members for “service above self?”