Club Business
President Jim Cartner brought the meeting to order. Phil Brown led the prayer and pledge of allegiance to the US flag. Dale Greeson introduced his associate, Chris Bryan from BB&T. Mac Williams welcomed Reagan Gural, VP of the Chamber of Commerce. Sam Powell introduced Matthew Davenport, who has lived in Burlington for ten weeks and is employed by Crowson Insurance. Brad Moser welcomed his partner, Keith Pleasant. Jim acknowledged that Kelly Carlisle will be soon celebrating her 18th wedding anniversary. Congrats! Next week Paige Duffy will share about her experiences as a recent Rotary exchange student sponsored by our club.
- Joseph Williams shared that Feed the Hunger’s recent 50th Anniversary Packathon was tremendously successful, packing over 450K meals. 1300 volunteers participated. He thanked those from the club who participated and said that the Family of Rotary Packathon is slated for early December.
- Carolyn Rhode announced that Friday will be Show Your Pride Day at ACC. Free tickets will be given away to the Friday night Royals ballgame.
- Deva Reece celebrated 47 years of marriage with a whirlwind Chicago trip that sounded like a lot of fun. The took in a Cubs and a White Sox game, the Sears Tower, and a cheeseburger at the Billy Goat Tavern.
- Sang Ho Lee said that if he and our speaker, Bruce Nelson, combined forces they would be invincible – Bruce Lee. He also announced that a free martial arts exhibition will be offered on Thursday at 6 pm at Lee Brothers Academy.
Club Member Responsible for Our Program: Trip Durham
Trip has been a faithful member of our club since 2007. He is one of our most talented people, who has skillfully avoided becoming president. He is the founder and decision maker at 2D Consulting, where his wife serves as the irreplaceable second D. He was formerly employed by the Athletic Department at Elon University and was President of National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators. Trip has produced or co-produced over 1,500 events in the last 25 years! Some would say he has the best seat in the house — center court at Cameron Indoor Stadium where he has handled public address since 2010. He is also a creative cook and gardener. Last but not least, he is a Paul Harris Fellow.
Bruce Nelson on Leadership
Bruce Nelson, the now retired former CEO of Office Depot, currently is the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee at Reverence Farms, the brainchild of his daughter that brought him and his family to Alamance County.
Reverence Farms is a 400-acre farm that is a diversified, thriving polyculture where animals are treated with reverence and grace, earthworms are cherished, and all critters eat a species-appropriate diet. Their commitment to whole food means that they are diligent about the ingredients in their value-added products. Basically they are committed to natural organic food, which can be purchased online. They also have a Cafe, where farm to table meals are served. The Cafe has fifty-two seats and advertises that its foods contain little or no undesirables. They strive to avoid genetically modified organisms (GMOs), trans-fats, processed salt, monosodium glutamate (MSG, including hidden forms), chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, flavoring agents and anything else that wasn’t in grandma’s pantry. They believe in the inherent health of natural systems, and strive for wholeness in every way.
Bruce began his presentation with a couple of humorous stories. His major point was that every relationship, business, organization, and group depends on one thing – trust. Trust is a measurable component that is revealed in how people feel about their leaders and the company that employs them. It takes a long time to build trust, but it can be destroyed in a moment. Once destroyed it may never be fully restored. Bruce’s way to build trust is to be as open and forthright as possible – never deceitful, no hidden agendas. He said every organization has a culture and every action a leader takes will be interpreted by everyone in the organization. Ultimately we end up standing for what we tolerate. People will respect what we inspect, not just what we expect. It is important for leaders and organizations to be concerned about what is good for the many, not just the few.
He used a bus analogy to summarize what leading an organization entails.
- Make sure the right people are on the bus.
- Make sure people who are wrong for the organization are off the bus.
- Make sure everyone on the bus is seated in the right place. Set them up to succeed.
He concluded by advocating for being servant leader.
Conclusion
John Beshel held the winning ticket and took a stab at pulling the Ace of Hearts, but failed as all have before him. There are 27 cars left in the deck; so, things are definite trending in the right direction probability-wise. The pot continues to grow. Jim presented Bruce with a book in honor of our emphasis on literacy. Then we all stood to recite Rotary’s four way test before Jim adjourned the meeting.
Until next time…