The Rotary Minute is a quick one-minute story that features the work and impact of Rotary in our community and world!
This weekend is the start of a special conference…one that I attended when I was Vice President of our club.

This is a special conference put on by the Association of Rotary Club Executive Directors (or ARCED) called the “Large Club Conference” and is put on, especially for Rotary Club staff members and their incoming leadership. This year’s conference is in San Jose, California. Our Executive Director Jenna and Vice President Stefanie Page are preparing to head down and spend the beginning of next week learning from our other large club peers around the country.

Rotary Clubs come in all shapes and sizes. There are e-clubs that meet virtually, passport clubs for frequent travelers, Interact clubs, Rotaract clubs, small Rotary clubs, and large Rotary clubs. With a dedicated staff member and a history of large membership, Rotary Club 21 falls into the Large Club category. As such we are fortunate each year to be invited to attend the Rotary Large Club Conference each year.

One of my favorite memories from my Large Club Conference experience was meeting Rotarian leaders from other clubs around the country and hearing how they do things at their club.  Listening to members from several Southern California clubs talk about how much fun it was working with other clubs on the annual Rotary Float in the Pasadena Rose Parade is what inspired me to have our club march and represent Rotary in our own Lilac Parade.

Another of my favorite things about this conference is the great data the clubs share with each other. This really allows us to see where we measure up compared to other clubs in the country. For example, according to large club data, Club 21 is currently the 39th largest club in the United States & Canada!

So be proud that our club is one of the oldest and largest Rotary Clubs in our country!  And best wishes to Vice President Stefanie and ED Jenna as they head off to the Large Club conference in San Jose next week!

And that is today’s Rotary Minute!