Gene, a friend of mine in the chemical business told me about traveling to see a potential client in Manila. They had a morning meeting and discussions were going well, but as the clock got to about half past eleven, Gene noticed that the client had something else on his mind. Eventually, the client told Gene that he was sorry, but he had somewhere else he needed to be.
Gene apologized for perhaps making the client late, but asked a favor, “Can you tell me where the local Rotary Club meets?” The client beamed. He was a Rotarian, and he was on his way to the noon meeting of the Manila Rotary Club. They went together and afterwards concluded their negotiations.
“Rotary is a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders that provides humanitarian service, encourages high ethical standards in all vocations, and helps build goodwill and peace in the world. Approximately 1.2 million Rotarians belong to more than 31,000 Rotary clubs located in 167 countries.”
– Information from www.rotary.org
Rotary is a great organization for an instant connection. Rotarians meet weekly and must maintain 60% attendance. When you're out of town or out of the country, you're encouraged to visit other clubs. Members should wear their Rotary pins. Sometimes we forget to wear them, which is a shame. Generally, even in a crowd you can identify a Rotarian by the lapel pin.
Whenever I meet in someone’s office, the first thing I do is check out their plaques and certificates hanging on the walls. I recommend this to everyone in business. Many times you’ll find membership information for Kiwanis, Exchange, Lions, Jaycees and other organizations. If you are a member of one of these organizations, you have an instant connection with the person you are meeting.
If you are traveling somewhere on business or even just for fun, you might consider a Rotary connection if you are a member.
My friend Jim and I were flying to Columbus, Ohio to watch the University of Washington Huskies play the Buckeyes in football (we lost). I called the president of the Columbus Rotary Club and explained about our trip. I was immediate past-president of my club, and Jim was going to be president the following year.
The Columbus president met us for drinks our first night in town. We talked about our clubs and compared projects and operations. We had a nice time. By the time the evening was over Jim and I and the rest of our party were invited to golf at the exclusive Scioto Country Club. We also ended up joining a number of Columbus Rotary members for a tailgate party prior to the game, where we met the president of Ohio State University as well as a past drum major and majorette who were taking part in the half-time festivities. The warm dinner conversation, golf, and the tailgate party made the trip very memorable.
Rotary is a great organization for fellowship and business. The average size of a Rotary Club is around fifty. Older clubs like mine in Tacoma and Columbus, Ohio have hundreds of members. While Tacoma is my favorite club, with about four hundred members, my second favorite club, Fife-Milton, only has about thirty. Both clubs have fun meetings that are enjoyable.
If you are a Rotary member you may visit any club in the world to find friends and business associates. Rotary is an instant connection.
