The East/West Iowa Fall District Conference has come and gone. It was good
to be able to meet and talk to Sertomans from clubs in our district as well
as renewing friendships from West Iowa. It also offered an opportunity to
meet some new acquaintances from Sertoma Clubs across Iowa.
The attendance this year was about the same as the past. We held the meeting on Saturday this year instead of the usual Sunday as the last few years. It didn’t seem to make a great difference. A reminder that joining other Sertomans will bolster club enthusiasm.
We were honored to have our Regional Director, Tim Hazel and Regional Foundation Representative Dale Robinson in attendance. In fact they were both on the agenda and each gave stimulating presentations.
The Des Moines club reported on the Sertoma Booth at the Iowa State Fair. Earplugs numbering 10,000 were distributed. Hearing tests were given to 325 visitors. The booth will be at the fair next year and all clubs are asked to volunteer to work at the booth.
The biggest discussion centered on Sertoma re-Districting. This includes numerous districts in the whole of Sertoma. East and West Iowa are a part of this as both districts are below the 8-club, 300-member minimum guidelines for a district. It was agreed to propose to International that East and West Iowa merge into an Iowa District. Should this happen the merger would take place in July 2008.
Sertoma Listening to the future…
That is President Woody Hudson catch phrase for this year. Of course it relates to many things but probably most importantly recruiting new members. There are many people out there who want to become involved in a program such as Sertoma, all we have to do is ask. There are some incentive recruitment awards for individuals who recruit new members. Get your Summer 2007 edition of SERTOMAN magazine and look on page 19 for the details.
Information sources
SERTOMAN is a good place to seek information about what is going on in our organization; read what other clubs around the country are doing for their communities.
Sertoma Digest is a periodical in a tabloid form that addresses the business end of what’s happening in our Sertoma world. It is well worth reading to bring your members current information from International Headquarters.
Another good source of Sertoma information is www.sertoma.org. It brings all Sertomans the information about the operation of Sertoma.
The above sources are intended for all Sertomans and they are encouraged to visit all of them.
As for Presidents and Secretary and/or treasurers, the new Club manual that is on a CD for the 2007-2008 year is very in depth for locating information. It is interactive with the internet and is a worthwhile exploration.
So far this has been a great fall, weather-wise. The college football teams are almost done for the regular season. UNI is having a great season, Iowa is less than mediocre at this point and Iowa State needs some work to bolster their last games. The high school playoffs are now underway and I'm sure many Sertomans in East Iowa have their favorite team to support. Let’s all have fun this fall cheering on our teams.
Phyllis and I took a drive last week to view the beautiful fall colors. We headed northeast of the Quad Cities along the Rock River. It was a wonderful drive, however, the trees around Iowa City are much prettier than in that area of Illinois; maybe next year.
Thanks for the work you all do for Sertoma. Your efforts are much appreciated.
If you have any questions that I can answer or help you with, don't hesitate to call on me.
Have a good month.
Chuck Lindemann,
Governor, East Iowa District