HAND HOLDING PROGRAM COMMENCES

The

OLYMPIANS The Official Newsletter of the Rotary Club of Makati - OLYMPIA

VOL. 01 NO. 21 • JANUARY 2011

The President’s Corner

My dear

Fellow

Olympians,

Welcome 2011, thank

you, 2010!

The start of the New Year brings

RCMO to another level. We begin

with the Hand Holding program

where PE Jay and I will share the

club leadership. This will prepare

him for his incumbency as our

President in the next Rotary Year.

It is an innovation which we will be

doing for we want to be assured

that our programs and endeavors to

humanity will be sustained and

continued whoever sits as our

President. Our motto, after all, is

"Here to Last".

On our other service activities,

we shall be launching two major

activities with our youth to

celebrate RI's themes for the first

quarter of 2011 which are Rotary

Awareness, and World

Understanding and Literacy. These

projects are the Mr. and Ms.

Rotaract and the Global Peace

Festival with our sponsored

Rotaract and Interact clubs.

Though the coming months will

be hectic, we will devote a bigger

part of our time to strengthening

our club by intensive membership

development so that all of us will

remain as members of the Family of

Rotary for good. Mentoring and

small group meetings through our

Tete-A-Tete program will be in full

blast so that even those with Cont’d on page 2…

Rotary Club Makati Olympia

(RCMO) ushered in the New Year with the launching of the club service program, Hands Holding.

Approved during the Board Meeting last January 4, this program would enable the President and the President-Elect (PE) to share the club leadership, and will start on the club’s January 11 assembly.

The “Hand Holding” program is an innovative leadership strategy unique to RCMO (see

related story on page 2). This allows

the PE to have a dry run on the presidency, and at the same time allows the incumbent and incoming president to jointly

have ownership of the activities of the current Rotary Year. This arrangement also better ensures the continuity of the club’s program. Other incoming officers also play understudy to all incumbent club officers.

With this program, Charter President (CP) Rose Acoba is starting to pass the baton of club leadership to PE Jay Bataclan as early as now. This will allow a longer hands-on training for PE Jay so that when he assumes the Presidency in July, he will be able to take on the position with ease. One-on-one discussions on club leadership practices and issues have already begun and will continue throughout the Hand Holding period.

The President’s Corner cont’d from

p.1

difficulty attending meetings and

service projects will be able to

participate actively. I, therefore,

enjoin you to recommit to our oath

as members of RCMO. Let us make

this pledge not just for the coming

three months but for the next years

with our incoming leaders like PE

Jay, PN Renny and PND Wilbert

and so forth at the helm. Let us

make our membership not just a

vocation but a mission.

My dear fellow Olympians, we

had started great. There is no other

way but to be greater!

FEATURE: RCMO HAND HOLDING PROGRAM

PROGRAM RATIONALE This serves as the dry-run for the PE for his/her term. It affords both incumbent and incoming club leaders the opportunity to work very closely with each other ensuring the continuity of programs and projects of the club. With the two club leaders holding hands or working together, the other officers also become the shadow of the incumbent thus they already know their duties and responsibilities as they officially assume their offices in their respective terms.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION During this period, the Club Level Strategic Planning is done. This is spearheaded by the PE and the President guides the planning. The PE presides in all the proceedings. In club and board meetings, the President opens the meeting and the PE adjourns. During the President's Time, the PE makes his/her announcements and the President follows. President and PE make the program together. PE may start solicitation and President assists him/her. A separate recording of the proceeds of the PE's solicitation is maintained for proper accounting purposes.

On projects, PE may start planning and initiating his project by doing community assessment and survey. The President assists. On the Weekly Bulletin, the PE will be given a corner for him/her weekly message to the club. On Club records and other necessary documents from secretary and treasurer, if the incumbent will not serve in the same position in the next RY, the designated officers are to start working together for complete transfer by July. Signatories in the bank account are changed to include the PE. President and PE, as much as possible, attend all club and district endeavors to pave way for the PE to be familiar with tasks and responsibilities. On commitments that will be asked from the PE during the PETS, prior to participating in the PETS, the President has to brief the PE on this and they have agreed on the commitments that will be given. RCMO shall shoulder 50% of the PETS Registration Fee.

ROTARY international NEWS

RI Board reinforces strategic priorities, goals by Arnold R. Grahl

At its November meeting, the RI Board approved a number of recommendations and actions to reinforce the priorities and goals of the RI Strategic Plan. The changes, which include endorsing the concept of flexible attendance and meeting requirements and allocating $4 million for Public Relations Grants, are designed to keep Rotary vibrant and attractive to current members and prospective members from younger generations. "By focusing on strategic issues throughout the week, the Board was able to reach consensus on several strategic decisions, which constitute progressive moves by the RI Board," says RI President Ray Klinginsmith.

Specifically, the Board: • Agreed to the concept of amending RI policy on meeting attendance, meeting options, and member termination in order to support and strengthen clubs by allowing them more flexibility. The changes will require revisions to the RI Constitution and the Standard Rotary Club Constitution in the form of legislation submitted to the 2013 Council on Legislation.

• Agreed to fund $4 million in PR grants annually, starting in 2011-12 for at least three years, to

advance the strategic priority of enhancing public image and awareness.

• Supported the creation of an annual Rotary Citation beginning in 2012-13 that would replace future Presidential Citations. The new citation would be based on clubs achieving predetermined goals that are aligned with the clubs' and RI's strategic direction.

• Agreed to transform RI programs to a “resource and support” model to help clubs and districts in their service efforts and advance the strategic priority of focusing and increasing humanitarian service.

• Agreed to replace the vision statement in the RI Strategic Plan with a core essence statement, which uses more contemporary language and better expresses what Rotary is and does.

• Agreed to conduct four new pilot programs -- associate member, corporate member, satellite clubs, and innovative and flexible Rotary clubs -- to promote membership diversity and improve recruitment, beginning 1 July. Two hundred clubs will be accepted for each three-year pilot.

• Encouraged districts with more than 100 clubs and over 4,000 members to split into two or three new districts as early as July 1, 2012.

The Strategic Planning Committee suggested many of the changes to help move the organization toward an emphasis on active and engaged membership. "Rotary must change its culture from one of attendance to one of engagement," says RI Director Stuart B. Heal, chair of the Strategic Planning Committee. "It is our belief that in the next decade this must become our culture as we become more innovative and continue serving around the world." Says Klinginsmith: "It was a historic week for Rotary."

Rotary Information

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES AND GOALS

The revised strategic plan, effective July 1, 2010, identifies three strategic priorities supported by 16 goals:

Support and Strengthen Clubs • Foster club innovation and

flexibility • Balance activities in all

Avenues of Service • Promote membership

diversity • Improve member recruitment

and retention • Develop leaders • Extend Rotary • Encourage strategic planning

at club and district levels Focus and Increase Humanitarian Service • Eradicate polio • Increase sustainable service

focused on: -New Generations Service programs -Our six areas of focus

• Expand strategic partnerships and cooperative relationships

• Create significant projects both locally and internationally

Enhance Public Image and Awareness • Unify image and brand

awareness • Publicize action-oriented

service • Promote core values • Emphasize vocational

service • Encourage clubs to promote

their networking opportunities and signature activities

The second semester of Rotary year calendar kicks off with two major activities for the months of January to March. These activities are the Mr. and Ms. Rotaract and the Global Peace Festival. The projects include activities which will celebrate the RI monthly themes for these months: Rotary Awareness for January, World Understanding for February and the Literacy and World Rotaract Week in March. Mr. and Ms. Rotaract is a search for the Rotaract Ambassador who shall serve as the spokesperson of Rotaract at this juncture when the Service to New Generations has been added as Rotary's 5th Avenue of Service. Rotaract Club of Scholar ng Bayan de Olympia and Rotaract Club of Teatro de Olympia are leading this 3- month activity which will culminate on Rotaract Week. Activities include essay writing

2 youth activities to mark RY 2010-2011 2nd semester

on the Four-Way Test, which is open to Rotaractors in District 3830 and with the participation of matched clubs from other districts of RCMOs sponsored Rotaract Clubs. Deadline for submission of entries will be on January 28 and winners will be announced in a grand finale night on March 12.

The Global Peace Festival will be done from Jan. 28 - March 1. This is spearheaded by Interact Club of Umakians of Olympia and Interact Club of Scholar ng Bayan de Olympia as lead clubs in cooperation with 13 other RCMO-sponsored Interact clubs and the Supreme Student Council of UMAK.

It is composed of 12 activities done to celebrate World Understanding through the February. It will be launched on January 28 and will culminate is on March1. Activities include Interfaith Prayer for Peace, Thousand Messages for

Peace, Thousand Runners for Peace, Thousand Hands for Peace, Poster and Slogan Making Contest, Mr. and Ms. Global Peace, Student Leaders Conference, Lending hands, Peace Parade, Dance for Peace, and Peace Concert with the participation of Voice of Olympia. The Service to New Generations Committee’s hands are full as it prepares for the respective launch of these activities.

editorial team

adviser Rose Acoba editor Joel D. Adriano

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