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Probably the earliest
memories of my life were of Rotary. Of course, I didn't realize what
Rotary was at the time. I remember going to a lot of meetings with my
parents, where there were a lot of grown-ups, and a lot of the time I
was told to behave myself Those memories stayed with me, because it was
hard for me to be good! I was four years old when my father, W. Lee
Woodward, was Rotary Governor of District 124 (now Districts 5750 and
5790) in Oklahoma. Those must have been the early years I remember.
Whenever we traveled, the first thing my mother did was pull the
Official Directory out from under the seat of the car where it always
stayed. It was a challenge to see how many Rotary clubs my father could
attend on each trip. We would speed up, slow down and go out of our way
to make a meeting. I didn't realize we were different. I thought all
families traveled that way.
As I was growing up,
frequent visitors in our home were men who had been district governors
about the same time as my father. Some of them served as RI directors,
and one, J. Edd McLaughlin, was RI president in 1960-61. It seemed as
though I had always been a Rotarian with so much of my life touched by
Rotary. I didn't hesitate when I was asked to join and I was eager to
become involved.
In 1989, I took Hugh
Archer's theme "Enjoy Rotary" to heart by joining the international
Skiing Fellowship of Rotarians. Those ISFR ski weeks introduced me to
Rotarians beyond the district. Two years later, the fellowship decided
that we needed to grow and get more Rotarians around the world involved
in the ISFR. Because we own a hardware store, they decided that I must
know marketing and public relations? so the task of publicity and
membership fell to me. Imagine the excitement in our hardware store in
rural Texas when I had phone calls from Rotarians in Turkey, New
Zealand, and Italy, all in a single day! This was my introduction to the
international part of Rotary international. From 1993-95, as president
of the Skiing Fellowship, I was the first woman to head an international
fellowship. That honor was overshadowed by the honor and pleasure of
meeting with then RI President Bob Barth in his Evanston office. At that
time I presented to him two official pins of the skiing fellowship
making President and Mrs. Barth honorary members of ISFR.
I was surprised when
Rotarians began to ask if I would agree to be nominated for district
governor. My response was that Rotarians around the district probably
didn't know me well enough. They convinced me that they all m. I had
attended a district conference on crutches, a result of my first ski
fellowship week. The conference was held on two floors of a resort with
no elevator!
My location in the
district might have been one of the reasons I was selected to be the
nominee. District 5790, in North Central Texas, covers 28,000 square
miles and has three major urban areas. The Fort Worth Metroplex area is
on the extreme eastern edge of the district. Almost half of our 63 clubs
(including the Rotary Club of Fort Worth, with 700 members ) and
two-thirds of the 3700 Rotarians in the district are in this area.
Wichita Falls is on the north edge. Abilene is in the southwest corner
of the district. Because most of the Rotarians are in these three urban
centers, the majority of the district governors come from these areas.
My club is almost in the exact middle of the district and in a rural
area. It had been ten years since a governor was selected from the rural
middle of the district.
Jumping from running a
hardware store, with all its nuts and bolts, plumbing supplies, paint,
etc., to the international Assembly was going to another world. That
week in Anaheim was an unbelievable experience. We made friends
instantly, talked to and really got to know people from around the
world, shared the common interest in Rotary, planned joint projects, and
discussed new ideas in the breakout sessions. How can you explain to
anyone who has not been there, what it means and how it changes your
life? Having the opportunity to participate in that one week was worth
all the work and time spent preparing for and being district governor. I
would do it all again for that week's experience in Anaheim.
I had wondered how we,
the women governors, would be received by the other governors,
especially those from outside the USA. One of my fondest Anaheim
memories was of a governor nominee from Thailand. He left no doubt in
our minds how welcome we were. When I met him one day in the lobby, he
was so disappointed that he hadn't brought his camera. He wanted his
picture taken with one of the women nominees. The next day we saw each
other at the same time and place in the lobby as though it were planned.
He had his camera and he was very pleased to see me again. As we were
posing for the picture, I looked up and saw another woman nominee
getting out of the elevator, then another. By the time the picture was
taken, he had two women nominees on each side of him. Four of us
surrounding the Thai nominee! I've often wondered how many people have
seen that picture. It was always
an honor to be asked to
pose for a picture. Everywhere we went, people wanted pictures of the
first women nominees and a chance to get to know us.
We had to forget the
celebrity status when the time for classes continued. We became just
another nominee in a group of about twenty nominees, learning more about
Rotary through the discussion groups. These groups gave us additional
opportunities to interact with each other and learn of Rotary activities
in other regions. We realized how much Rotary varies from area to area.
But, men or women, with all our differences, we're the same, because we
are Rotarians.
Looking back at the year
I spent preparing to be governor, it seems like a blur. At the time, I
thought I was very well organized. I had told our daughter, Michele, and
our son, Daniel, that they could marry any time they wanted, except from
January, 1995 until July, 1996, when my time would be filled with
preparing for and being governor. That was my mistake. I should never
have mentioned marriage. Both of them, ages 29 and 27, decided to marry
and their weddings would be during the first two months of my year as
district governor. Our daughter was in a doctoral program in west Texas
but wanted to marry in her home church and have the reception at home,
so l did most of the work after she made the decisions about her
wedding. RI President Herb Brown was stressing the importance of family,
so l put my family first and didn't start my club visits until July
18th, three days after her wedding. Daniel's wedding was in August.
Although I was not as involved, it was still a very busy time juggling
the wedding activities with my Rotary responsibilities.
In addition to the week
in Anaheim, some of my best memories of the year are of the club visits.
During the second week of my visits, Arlington Sunrise Rotarians took me
to see some of their club projects, including playground equipment they
and the community had built when they were a very young club. When we
returned to my hotel, I was speechless when I looked up and saw the
marquee "Welcome Rotary District Governor Janet Holland". it suddenly
struck me that I was IT! I really was "GOVERNOR." After a year and a
half of preparation, the time had come.
Nothing in my training
prepared me for the third week of the visits. That week, I would be in
one of the least populated areas with small clubs and towns with one
exception, Vernon. Since I hadn't heard from the first club and they
hadn't returned my calls, I finally called an old time Rotarian in the
club. He told me that they had disbanded. To learn of losing a 75 year
old club during the third week of the club visits was very
disheartening. But I told myself, "Chin up, Janet, and on to Vernon", a
club of 55 men. The only thing they would talk about at the club
assembly was how to get women members and not lose the members they had.
Whatever we were discussing, women members came up again. In closing, I
told them I would come I back to induct their first woman member. A
month later they called me to come induct their first five women and
also five men! It was raining very hard that first morning I was in
Vernon. By the time I left town, it was pouring. As I crossed a stream,
water was running over the bridge. Looking in my rear view mirror, I saw
the highway department crews closing the bridge. Five minutes later and
I would have had a five hour detour into Oklahoma to get back to my next
stop, Crowell. Before it stopped, it had rained over 25 inches in the
two days I was in the area.
In Crowell, I was
staying with a couple, both Rotarians, twenty-four miles in the country.
Just as we were leaving for the assembly, they learned that their club
president had resigned that day and had already left town. By the time
we got to town they had decided that she would serve a second term as
president, in addition to being my governor's representative. The
Rotarians in town had already made the same decision. The fourth club of
the week continued the pattern. I hadn't heard about the arrangements so
l started calling. After several calls, I learned that their president
had left his job and moved away. Apparently he hadn't told anyone I was
coming. The secretary said he would make reservations for my room but he
couldn't remember the name of the motel and would call back. When he
called, the motel was the same name as the town! Their new president of
this 15 member club had been a Rotarian for only nine months, so the
assembly became a mini PETs for all the members. After that week, I
couldn't wait to see what else was in store for me during my visits.
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My husband, Mike, is a
rancher and couldn't go with me on my club visits. He asked what I would
do if my car broke down. My answer was that I had 3,700 Rotarians out
there who were to take good care of me. During the fourth week, I needed
their help. My car died as I was crossing a long bridge out in the
country. I managed to coast to the end of the bridge and into a parking
lot of a building under construction. There was not another building or
car in sight for miles. I walked around the building looking for some
workers and found a boat rental business and sales office in the back.
They had a mechanic on duty who could fix my car but it would take a few
days to get the parts. Through the help of the closest Rotary club, I
soon had a rental car reserved and chauffeur service for the 30 miles
between the boat business and my rental car. Later in the week, they
arranged for the return transportation.
I kept wondering that if
these were my first four weeks, what else could possibly I happen during
the next nineteen weeks. There weren't too many more surprises, just I
more great opportunities to get to know the Rotarians and outstanding
service work ' they were doing. By December 19th, I had finished my
visits and wished I could I start over to see what they had accomplished
since I had been with each club. Fifty four nights away from home were
made possible by an understanding husband, an excellent store manager,
an efficient district secretary and his secretary, who loaned I me their
office couch for mid-afternoon naps when I was exhausted, a cellular
phone and a laptop computer.
As nominee, I was kidded
about my being the "Queen Bee." After visiting each of those 61 clubs
and two provisional clubs, which chartered by mid-year, I truly felt
like a queen. Everywhere I went, I was treated like royalty and with the
utmost respect. I think the smaller rural clubs were especially
interested in my visit for they knew I understood their problems and
situations. Perhaps having a woman governor encouraged some of the clubs
to look at each district governor as an individual person with different
interests. I think they tried to make my visit special and looked at the
governor's visit in a new light because I am a woman. They were probably
relieved that my husband didn't make the visits with me, so they didn't
have to figure out how to entertain a male spouse of a governor. It
wouldn't have been a problem for them, he would have enjoyed
participating in all the Rotary meetings and activities.
I stepped into the role
of governor in an already active and enthusiastic district. The
outstanding leadership in our district during the previous years had
established a strong foundation of service and programs, on which we
were able to build. The past governors' help was always willingly given
whenever I asked. We have been extremely involved in matching grants
that has led to other international interests and projects. District
Rotarians are now looking for projects as they travel. One Rotarian,
while giving a banking seminar in Mongolia and visiting the new Rotary
club, learned of their desire to start the first English language
library in the country.
Upon his return, his
club began collecting "Books for Mongolia." When others in the district
learned of the project, they wanted to participate, so we adopted it as
a district project. Of the 42,000 pounds of books collected, one of our
provisional clubs contributed over 12,000 pounds of that total.
Another Rotarian called
to say he would be attending the Russian Peace Forum in Anchorage and
could he commit the district to anything reasonable. It takes trust in
your fellow Rotarians to say, "Go ahead!" He also told me his club would
be sponsoring the new Rotary Club of Chita, Russia. As a result of his
attending the forum, a Russian teacher was sent to our district to study
our teaching methods, especially English as a Second Language. It was so
successful that a teacher from Chita will come this year, as well as a
youth exchange student. Some Chita Rotarians will be visiting as well.
Sometimes I felt as though my hardest job was just keeping up with
everything the Rotarians were doing in the district and around the
world. The growing interest in the international part of Rotary and in
the Foundation was demonstrated by our doubling the goal we had set for
annual giving.
With more and more
people becoming interested in the Internet, our district made the
decision to have a home page, including the newsletter each month, as a
way to reach more Rotarians quicker with the districts news. When I
finally learned how to find our home district page on the Internet,
there was my picture as district governor. I suppose you could compare
it to seeing your picture on the front page of a newspaper for the first
time. We feel the page will be helpful in making contact with districts
around the world who are interested in similar projects. We also think
it will promote more interest in Rotary.
My year as district
governor ended on a high note, when I served as chairman of the Texas
Breakfast at the Calgary Convention. It was a time of celebration,
meeting new friends, renewing friendships with Rotarians from around the
world and making promises to meet again. There's no better way to end a
once-in-a-lifetime experience than that.
July 1, 1996, arrived
and the calendar told me the year as governor was over. Although most of
our goals were met or surpassed, not all our projects were completed.
Several international projects planned or initiated while I was governor
will be completed during my successor's year. Our district's second
reverse Matching Grant, a community garden in Fort Worth, has been
approved with the Rotary Club of Hou Kuong, Macao, as our partner. We
have discussed organization of a Rotary Community Corps to supervise it.
As a result of our
outstanding Group Study Exchange with Bangladesh, we have applied for
our first Carl Miller Discovery Grant to help the Rotary Club of
Jalalabad, Sylhet, Bangladesh, in establishing the country's first
rehabilitation hospital. We want to continue the friendships we made
through the GSE program. Perhaps I was closer to them, not only because
I was governor, but because the pastor from my church was our out-bound
team leader.
From a contact made
during the international institute in Anaheim while I was governor, we
will be having our first Rotary Volunteers serving abroad during the
spring of 1997. Two nursing instructors will be going to Madras, India,
to teach advanced nursing for intensive Care and Surgery.
When my successor asked
me to serve as District international Chairman, I was happy to agree. In
addition to that position, he asked that I also oversee the Discovery
and Volunteer Grants Committees. I'll be able to bring those unfinished
projects to completion and maintain the international contacts I have
made with Rotarians worldwide.
I'm sure all district
governors see too late areas that needed more attention or action. This
happened to me in the area of the Rotary Foundation Scholars Program.
During our district's interviews, we were discussing the program. I
realized that we were doing the best we could for orientation of two or
three scholars, but I had heard about multi-district orientations that
were much more effective than ours. The nine Rotary districts in Texas
participate in Lone Star PETs and a statewide orientation for our Youth
Exchange. Fellow Governor Bill Bechtol, and I felt very strongly that
we, too, should have a statewide or zone-wide orientation for our
Foundation scholars. After talking with him, I agreed to be chairman of
the program with his help. Several discussions with PDGs Anne and Bill
Robertson of Kentucky about their multi-district program helped us have
a quality program. Bill generously furnished materials from their
program, registration flyers, programs, evaluations, financial reports
and other information. Ken Morgan of North Carolina also helped with
ideas and encouragement. We're looking forward to having a
representative from the Foundation with us for this first one. The
orientation, to be held in January 1997, will have approximately
twenty-five to thirty participants, half of them scholars. Alumni will
be doing much of the orientation while the Rotarians will be exploring
ways of improving the selection process and the role of sponsors,
counselors and alumni in their districts. Eight of the twelve districts
in Zone 26 and New Mexico from Zone 25 have registered for the program.
This program, if it's as successful as I feel it will be, may be my most
important and lasting contribution to Rotary international.
With the many ideas and
plans that we weren't able to accomplish during one year, I can see why
people agree to serve as governor a second time. I'll continue to be
involved in many areas of Rotary service. It was an honor to be asked to
make a presentation to the 1996 Spouses program at PETs, and 1996 Zones
25 & 26 Foundation Meeting. I will have spoken to clubs in two other
districts, and will be a guest speaker at another district conference.
In March, I'll be facing another real challenge, that of discussion
leader at Lone Star PETs. These invitations may have come partly because
I am a woman. Rotarians are looking for us, the first women governors,
to be role models for all women and to encourage more involvement of
women in Rotary.
In Rotary, it doesn't
matter whether we're men or women. As Rotarians, we're serving our
fellow man, at home and abroad, and working for worldwide friendship and
peace through Rotary. |
