President Tom had some poignant opening remarks. I am reprinting them here so that, as a club, we all understand Tom's vision and goals for the new year:
Reflections on the failed Rotary Presidency of 2024-2025
As I begin I want to thank and introduce some people who are serving our club this year:
Our Immediate Past President, John Hudnall
Vice President and President-Elect, Eric Ungewitter
Treasurer Jeff Hassett
Secretary Alex Reczkowski
As club members we all are represented by the board members who step up and serve staggered three year terms. Your Rotary Board this year includes:
2022-2024 - John Hudnall, Kelly Marion, and Jeff Whitehouse
2023-2026 - Jay Bailly and John McLaughlin
2024-2027 - Jim Bronson, Brad Felix, and Carol Leibinger-Healey
Thanks also to the people who serve in so many ways, from DG Vin to Jayson Tanzman who leads our Foundation and keeps the plates spinning here at Mazzeo’s, to committee chairs, the award-winning Sparks Tower editorial team, our Ministry of Finance, and everyone who has shown up and stepped up over the years.
My Member Minute won’t come around again for a while, so I wanted to share a little bit about me and why being President of our club means so much to me. I’m currently the President and CEO of Berkshire United Way, and a former mayor of North Adams. I don’t have any Hawaii or concert anecdotes to share at the moment, but I’m proud to say I’ve been married to my wife Jen for 27 years in October, and we have a 25-year old daughter and a 19-year old cat.
Most importantly, and the reason why service-focused work is so important to me, my parents were both public school teachers. My dad was a history teacher, and my mom taught English. One of her favorite books to teach was To Kill a Mockingbird, and growing up I’d often hear her quote a line from the book, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from their point of view.” The idea that empathy is a key to service, and their example explains why everything we do with and for young people is so important to me, because that’s where magic happens.
That also happens to be the theme of this Rotary year: The Magic of Rotary. Rotary International President Stephanie Urchick notes, there is magic in “every project completed, every dollar raised, every new member” that make up Rotary’s circle of influence.
Building on that idea, I would say there’s magic in every dollar distributed as well:
The magic of awarding scholarships that help young people along a path of education
The magic of knowing that through our auction this year we’re helping Habitat create
The magic of hearing the stories of how we’re making a difference when we distribute food pantry checks
The magic of programs like Kiva loans where we get to do good for people we’ll never meet
Magic happens when we recognize exemplary service in preceding the Paul Harris, Kagan, and Butler awards, and especially when we celebrate future leaders who are putting Service Above Self.
There is magic in learning more about the Pittsfield community from our guest speakers. Sometimes the magic comes in the form of the inspiration we feel, and yes, sometimes it’s when we pull off the trick of staying attentive when a speaker runs over their time.
As Rotarians we use magic works at every meeting:
Truth
Fairness
Goodwill and friendship
Mutual benefit
Finally there is magic in the fellowship that keeps us coming back to an organization that evolves, but remains true to its core principles; that welcomes new members; that adapts to the times; and that is a place where we can laugh at each other and equally importantly where we can laugh at ourselves.
As we think about making magic for our club and community, I ask you to consider a question we often ask at my office: what is our why? That is how do we make the connection between the ideals of our mission and our day to day work?
What is your Rotary Why? What is our shared why? How do we tell the story about our work and our impact, and what does the experience of coming to a meeting tell our guests and potential members about us? Keep that in mind as you bring guests. Think about the people you know who you think would be great members of our club, and need to be invited in. Imagine what organizations in the community aren’t represented in our group, and how a connection between them and the club would be beneficial all around.
Finally, use the magic of your Rotary Why to make yourself visible as a community ambassador. Service doesn’t have to wait for a Saturday in May, and I know many of us in the club do service throughout the year. When we serve, let’s challenge ourselves to make the connection between our actions and the magic we make when we answer the call to give back.
Thank you, and let’s have a great Rotary year.
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