Well, fellow Rotarians, the Bob Logan Reign of Terror has started off with a bang! And the bang you heard was the HUGE Gavel Charlotte Harris found in going through an old storage locker of Rotary memorabilia (some memorable, some not so much). So thanks Charlotte -- the reign of terror gavel will live a good life during our upcoming Rotary year.Needless to say, I am thrilled to be your leader this year and it has already been an exciting 18 months of preparation to get to this point. A special thanks to Past President Chuck Sawyer for taking me under his wing to learn the ropes on what this job is all about. His capable leadership, open door policy and his ability to work with all aspects of our Rotary world has made us a better club overall. You should know our club is a stronger one because of the time and effort he put in this past year. On behalf of the Rotary Club of Tucson, thanks Chuck for an amazing year.
If you don’t know my Rotary background, I would consider myself a “lunchtime Rotarian”. While I have served on the board once and I occasionally do the Paul Harris lunch entertainment for the club, for the most part, I have come to meetings, listened to the program, and then returned to my job at the UA College of Science. Honestly, I have not been actively engaged in district activities, or very knowledgeable of Rotary beyond my weekly club experience.
Clearly, I have learned Rotary through a fire hose the past number of months. Attending PETS (President Elect Training Seminar) and the Large Club Conference in January of this year was an eye opener. To meet so many incredible Rotarians and glean fabulous ideas and best practices was truly satisfying and enlightening. Those two conferences lit a spark of excitement for me. And to have President Elect Jennifer Hoffman and Dorinna with me made it all worthwhile. The ideas were flowing; the excitement for this year was palpable. And we will be incorporating many of these ideas this year.
Now to this year – what can our membership expect? I will say this, to everyone in our club: you will not want to miss any meetings this year. Our programs are going to be fantastic, thanks to Mark Irvin, Steve Christy and Jeanne Flower. We are bringing music back to our meetings and we will even have an American Idol contestant sing at an upcoming meeting! We will have UA leaders, business leaders, inspirational presentations and many program things that highlight what makes Tucson the great place it is.
We will attempt to raise the profile of Rotary in the Tucson community, hence, next week’s Mayor Debate and Forum. We hope to have a huge turnout from Rotarians as well as from the general public. This is our opportunity to show why Rotary is the place to be.
We will have fun at our meetings. Remember the old Knock-Knock jokes? This will be a new form of audience participation! Our inspirational video moments will bring many to tears. The stories are amazing and they make us appreciate how lucky we all are.
Finally, we will have goals. Of course we will have the typical Rotary goals for membership, retention, etc., but all these will fall in place if we accomplish these four very simple goals this year:
- Have Fun!
- Be Inspired
- Make an Impact
- Connect to Rotary
Let the Logan Rotary Reign of Terror begin! I hope you enjoy the ride….
Yours in Rotary,
Bob Logan
President
Rotary Club of Tucson
2019-2020
