President Maureen Merrill spent some time as a greeter this morning before ringing the bell at 7:30. We had 26 in attendance when the bell rang.
We were reminded that our theme for the year is “Energy,” which is why Bill Bolster did such an energetic read of the Four-Way Test.
Here is a little info that Wally Krutz found regarding the origin of the Four-Way Test:
In the early 1930s, Herbert J. Taylor set out to save the Club Aluminum Products distribution company from bankruptcy. He believed himself to be the only person in the company with 250 employees who had hope. His recovery plan started with changing the ethical climate of the company. He explained:
The first job was to set policies for the company that would reflect the high ethics and morals God would want in any business. If the people who worked for Club Aluminum were to think right, I knew they would do right. What we needed was a simple, quickly remembered guide to right conduct – a sort of ethical yardstick- which all of us in the company could memorize and apply to what we thought, said, and did.
I searched through many books for the answer to our need, but the right phrases eluded me, so I did what I often do when I have a problem I can’t answer myself: I turn to the One who has all the answers. I leaned over my desk, rested my head in my hands, and prayed. After a few moments, I looked up and reached for a white paper card. Then I wrote down the twenty-four words that had come to me:
- Is it the truth?
- Is it fair to all concerned?
- Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
- Will it be Beneficial to all concerned?
I called it “The Four-Way Test of the things we think, say or do.”
First testing it out on himself, he realized that the first question, “Is it the truth?” was barely applied in his business’ day-to-day operations. After 60 days, Herbert J. Taylor decided to share those principles with the four department directors of his company (each had a different religious faith). Those four directors validated his principles and rolled it out company-wide.
When studying his advertising statements, he realized how very little could be stated as “truth,” so a lot of copywriting adjustments were made to realign the company’s messages with a sense of genuine truth. The aggressiveness towards competition was also scrutinized and eliminated.
In 1932, Taylor’s company was on the edge of bankruptcy. Twenty years later, by applying the Four-Way Test, the company repaid its debts, generously paid its shareholders, and had a healthy financial balance.
And now you know… the rest of the story!
Alison Huber said that William James, the American philosopher suggested, “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”
Visiting Rotarian:
Our visiting Rotarian is our guest speaker Haresh Ramchandani, Past District Governor and member of the Montego Bay Rotary Club.
Guests of Rotarians:
Pres Maureen introduced Dana Johnson, who dropped in to share a food pantry update.
Beth Smith introduced our amazing exchange daughter Vittoria Castelli, along with her permanent housemates Donnie Smith, Emma, and Kate Smith.
Announcements:
Peggy Ball and Sandie Krutz got a shout out for a happy birthday.
We were told of John Hackenburg’s new bicycle. He and Jean took a road trip to Oregon to pick up the bicycle built for two.
Our newest Powerhouse of the month is past president Tom Hassur, who was given some appreciation for his work on the scholarship program.
We had a chance to share in the graduation ceremony of Vittoria Castelli when Pres Maureen shared a few of the photos of the line of cars that participated. Vittoria was surprised and delighted by the Club’s efforts.
Heather Cullen sent out an email thanking the Club for the sign that is now hanging adjacent to the new upgraded stage at Windsor Middle School. She shared the following:
Windsor Middle School would like to thank Tom Boylan of the Windsor Rotary Club for producing this WONDERFUL Thank You plaque honoring all the significant donors of time, money, and skills to creating our upgraded stage. Upgrades included new curtains, a whole new sound system with state of the art programming and design and an entirely new lighting system with state of the art programming and design. We were going to have our Career Technical Education in Performing Arts Class present The Greatest Show in May, to thank our donors. We will do something fabulous when audiences are allowed again. Until then. Thank you all for your efforts and support of the Arts at Windsor Middle School.
If you hadn’t heard, we found out that Windsor was put on lockdown from 9 pm to 5 am through Thursday morning, June 4th.
We were reminded of our efforts to share the list of restaurants that are still serving food to the community. Take a look at windsorrotary.org. The Town of Windsor is promoting our website on the electronic sign in front of Exchange Bank to give residents an easy tool to find a local restaurant serving either curbside pickup or take out menus.
Dana Johnson gave us a report on the First Presbyterian Food Pantry. Her interest in helping people who are food challenged began with an introduction to a friend’s efforts to help hungry people in San Rafael. She brought that model to Windsor and began to build a local program to help people who are in need. Her initial work quickly spread, and the First Presbyterian Church wound up, giving her a building behind the church that became the food pantry.
The food pantry has grown to become a small grocery store. A few people at a time are invited to shop for the food their family needs. They take the time to allow people who have special needs to peruse the pantry and find the specialty items they need.
With the advent of COVID-19, the pantry no longer allows for shipping, but they do prepare boxes of foods that they then hand out to residents in need.
The pantry has many items that are donated, but there is a need for meats and poultry items, which requires a budget of approximately $250 per week. Dana thanked us for our participation and let us know there are a few grants in addition to individual donors who help keep their pantry stocked. Renee Hyde was given a special thank you for her long time support.
Dana was enthusiastic that Heather’s efforts with the Rotary food drive have helped dramatically since the pantry’s need has grown to more than double of what they had been providing in the recent past. The demographics run the gamut of our neighborhoods and include all ages, races. There has been a significant increase in people over 35 who have lost their jobs. The Food Pantry she works with operates separately, but in unison with three other food pantries serving Windsor. Volunteers are always welcome.
President Maureen previewed that she is sending out a poll that the board is hoping to get a better understanding of the Club’s member needs during and after the COVID shelter in place.
Sandie Krutz shared that Michael Juric and Ken Moulton managed to get an honorary diploma for Vittoria. Both Michael and Ken received a special thank you from the Club. We also had a chance to see a special gift be opened by Vittoria, a red white and blue volleyball to bring back home.
Program:
JB Leep introduced our speaker today Haresh Ramchandani, a Past District Governor for District 7020. He was the host of the Hamburg International Convention and has served as an RI speaker and trainer.
Haresh shared that he has a passion for leadership, and he believes we don’t have a membership problem in Rotary, but rather a leadership problem.
He believes that Rotary is the best leadership development organization in the world. He calls out the importance of “The University of Rotary” for building leaders. He began his presentation by sharing the many presidential themes we have seen over the past twenty years. For all the values that Rotary associates with, he feels that Leadership is the base for our organization’s foundation.
An avid follower of the many authors that have written about leadership, he shared a concern that our organization has spent a tremendous amount of time on measuring core values, service projects, demographic information, and integrity.
Leadership is like losing weight; each visit to the gym is not automatic to see a difference. We might go on a diet to see a weight change, but after a week or more, you fail to see a change. Brushing teeth might seem like a strange circumstance for leadership, but if you don’t do it every day, you can stand to lose them. Love is the other analogy of leadership. Love needs to be refreshed and renewed, and a continual effort to keep a relationship in love.
Like these four areas, Hanish suggests that leadership requires a commitment to sticking with it. Patience plays a crucial role in being a leader. It’s not about intensity; it is about consistency.
We were asked to go through a list of qualities a leader should possess, a list of more than ten items that help to show how Rotary is the organization that meets the entire list. We were challenged to find another organization that meets all the criteria, and he suggests none meet all the qualities, except Rotary.
‘Rotary Essential Service’ is a good reading choice to understand better the ability for Rotary to establish leadership.
“You will always be in my heart.” Vittoria Castelli
