I know I had mentioned in my last bulletin that there would be no bulletin this week but Pres. Jeff asked me to get one out before I left for conference as there were a few important messages he wanted to make sure to get out to our members so here you go…
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September is Basic Education and Literacy month. Monday's meeting showed the power of education with Jo-Jo's presentation on WISE. The stories that were shared with us on some of the students that went through the WISE program were amazing and life-changing not only to the student but through the give-back policy enables others to benefit as well. If you wanted more information on this incredible program, here is the web site:
www.wisezambia.org
September 28th - NBRHC Foundation presentation by Kate Merritt-Dupell and Ryan Jeffers
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Our club recently donated a cooler to Open Arms Cafe in order to support their work in preparing meals for those in our community in need. We are gathering to celebrate and officially present the gift of the new cooler to Peggy and the Open Arms Cafe team. It would be wonderful to have a great turnout of fellow Rotarians to join in the celebration!
Come out on Monday, October 5th from 1:15 -1:30 at the Open Arms Cafe located at 301 Main Street East.
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Succession planning is a structured process for preparing for changes in key leadership, governance, and specialized roles. For a not-for-profit organization, it is essential to maintaining continuity, protecting stakeholder confidence, and ensuring that the mission can be advanced even when important people leave unexpectedly or transition as planned.
Why Succession Planning Matters
Protects mission continuity: Planned leadership transitions reduce disruption to programs, services, and strategic priorities.
Preserves institutional knowledge: Documenting responsibilities, relationships, and decision-making practices prevents critical knowledge from leaving with one person.
Reduces operational risk: Emergency succession arrangements clarify who has authority when a key leader is suddenly unavailable.
Builds leadership capacity: Identifying and developing internal talent creates a stronger, more resilient organization.
Supports good governance: A clear process helps the board fulfill its responsibility for leadership oversight and organizational sustainability.
Maintains stakeholder confidence: Funders, donors, employees, volunteers, partners, and beneficiaries are more likely to remain confident when transitions are well managed.
Promotes equity and transparency: Defined selection criteria and inclusive development opportunities can broaden the pool of future leaders and reduce reliance on informal networks.
Enables strategic renewal: Succession planning gives the organization an opportunity to assess the capabilities it will need for its next stage of development.
Succession planning is not simply about replacing an individual. It is an ongoing organizational-strengthening practice that connects leadership development, risk management, governance, and long-term strategy. When it is reviewed regularly and integrated into normal operations, it helps a not-for-profit remain stable, adaptable, and focused on its purpose.
Keeping the above in mind, please give some thought to our upcoming AGM (Annual General Meeting) in December when we have our elections for the Board.
We currently have upcoming vacancies that need to be filled. If you would like to have a voice in the future of our club, please think about coming on the board. For more information, please do reach out to either President Jeff or any other current board member. Here are the board positions:
President, President-Elect, Treasurer, Secretary and 6 Directors (8 positions) - Club Service, Vocational Service, Community Service, International Service and New Generations/Youth Service.
The board is also be looking for nominations for the John Lewis Memorial Rotarian of the Year award so keep in mind a member that you think would be deserving of this award and get your nomination in to any board member by the end of November.
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I read this in another club's bulletin and thought it was something worth sharing:
Mother Teresa said, “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” When each of us does one small thing, those ripples come together to create something extraordinary.
This week, I encourage each of us to perform one unexpected act of kindness.
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District Grants are a great way to help boost a club's event by helping out financially. We have 28 clubs that have been approved for a District Grant and there are some amazing projects! Thousands of people all over the world are being helped in so many ways just through our district grants. Having 28 grants to review and approve is a challenge and as the District Grants Chair, I am reaching out to you to see if you would be willing to donate some of your time in acting as a mentor to a few clubs to help in the process of reviewing the final reports in order to get the funds to the clubs. This is not a huge task and the “rules” are pretty easy to follow - training will be provided and total time commitment from now until May 31st, 2027 would be about 20 hours maximum.
If you have the time and want to learn more about District Grants and how they work, please do let me know.
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Looking forward to attending this year's conference and glad to see we will have a few members attending. We will share some highlights from the conference and hear from Olaia on her experience at the conference as well!
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See you on Monday, September 28th!
If you are not able to attend in person, here is the Zoom link to the meeting:
To join the meeting via Zoom - CLICK HERE.
