By Diana Brown
Rotary Club Guatemala Oeste
Learning is a living process! All persons build upon previous knowledge, not unlike the construction of a building, based upon a solid substructure that sustains the growing structure, adding on elements of strength, and also flexibility.
Such is learning; we all begin with a certain comprehension, and we build upon that. Not all comes from academic environments, much comes from experience and interactions. But all true learning is a living experience, that constantly grows and advances with each life event; yes, combined and complemented by training, books and classrooms, and these altogether, enrichen lives.
In Rotary, these experiences stimulate advance, personal and Rotarian. And when training seminars combine content, with thoughts and life-experiences, Rotary growth is exponential, enrichening and provocative.
There are infinite Rotary opportunities for learning; a very important one is the PELS event, President Elect Learning Seminar, where not only Rotary knowledge is shared, but also personal skills; the leadership of a club president is knowing how to navigate the human sea of emotions, understanding the members and communities involved, and learning from them. It’s not only making decisions based on the Manual of Procedure, which is supremely important, but also how she or he communicates that decision, even more important, as the president must consider and know each member of the club.
This year, the learning seminars in District 4250 were in a workshop model. A radical change in style, inviting the sharing of successes and failures, and learning together as a true team, unifying goals and strategies, so as to accomplish these, and instill growth in our organization. Coaching abilities were shared, as the art of storytelling, mediation protocols, and the important skill of active listening.
Rotary is alive, comprised of 1,200,00 members who live and breathe service! Through understanding the wide-ranging human points of view, learning from each and every one, Rotary will grow even more, living the motto, Service above Self.
