Raymond Plue is a former Rotary District Governor and former GSE team leader. He has been a Rotarian since 1968. Our team met with him during our weekend retreat at Lake of the Ozarks. A few stories and bits of advice he shared:
-Lección número uno: The GSE experience is the most valuable professional development experience you can have.
If you are thinking of the GSE but don't think your employer will allow you to have the time off for a month, think of it this way (and present it to your employers in this way):
Your employers will pay for you to go to a conference for a few days or a week and you will not have the experience and knowledge as you will from this exchange... And it's on Rotary's dime. Not your employer's. So the cost of the conference and accommodations they save is comparable to the time off you will have. And the experience is far more valuable. I am very lucky to work at OTC where many people in leadership (including my Chancellor) are Rotarians. Another employee has also been a GSE team member. I am thankful they understand the value of this experience and are allowing me to use my vacation time for four weeks straight.
Will it be hard to be away from my job for a month? Honestly (and sadly), it will be harder to be away from my job more so than my friends and family. However, this experience worked out perfectly. If it was in January or May (or almost any other month) I would have too much responsibility at work to be able to afford a month away. It will still be difficult for all of us. So much of our life is defined by our work and we all take on so much responsibility at our jobs. We just have to trust those we train in our absence.
-Lección número dos: The GSE experience is one of the most valuable personal experiences you can have.
Not only will you be bonding with your team very quickly, but you will also have the chance to make relationships with those you meet that last a life time. Many people who experience the GSE end up going back to visit those who they met and attend International Rotary Conferences to be able to see their friends.
-Lección número tres: Double down.
You only have this experience once. Make it worthwhile. When you perceive yourself in a negative or non-worthy situation, take a risk. Go outside your comfort zone. You have the opportunity to win big.
-Lección número cuatro: Always ring the bell:
Raymond travels all over the world and the US. Every state has a replica of the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. Raymond rings everyone he sees loud and proud. Even if security comes. Each bell's inscription states: 'Dedicated to you: A free citizen in a free land.'
This may not seem note-worthy, but picturing a 70+ year old man ringing a bell like it's the second coming is pretty hilarious.
If anyone knows a non-free union, it is Raymond, who has traveled all over the world and continues to go to the International Rotary meetings every year to catch up with all of his friends from around the world.
-Lección número cinco: If you have a drink, ride a bicycle.
As stated before, Raymond has rode his motorcycle all over the world. He is an International Member of Motorcycling Rotarians. At one point he was in Copenhagen and had plan to take a few weeks to ride north around tr fjords of Norway, towardsthe Arctic circle and back down. He had spent a weekend with a friend, another district governor who told him to take his bike. On his way back south, he stopped to spend time with another member of the club of Motorcycling Rotarians for a local festival. They decided to have a few drinks. So they took their bikes to this festival. Their bicycles. And one may have run through a fence.
Raymond is a wealth of knowledge and stories. A man that makes you want to stay all day and listen to his stories. A man that makes you be so proud to be a Rotarian (even a fake Rotaractor).
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Team Pictures: 75 Days and 17 Degrees
It' getting close and with this Missouri freeze this past week we couldn't be more ready.
 |
| Paul, me, Parker, Christie, and Jimmy |
 |
| I'm just looking cool as a cucumber here. Bad pic of me, but I'll sacrifice for the team. |
 |
| I think I'm getting read to blink. It was not a good picture day for me. |
 |
| Paul |
 |
| Miss Christie |
 |
| Jimmy |
 |
| Charlie Parker, Jr. |
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Wrong Turn
GSE Team 6080 had a little weekend retreat at Lake of the Ozarks to get to know each other a little better, continue preparations, and meet with Rotary leaders for team building.
The bad news: I didn't get any pictures!
The good news: We successfully spent over 24 hours together.
The weekend began with the first roadblock we encountered as a team. I'm sure we'll see many more (and worse). Our team leader changed his coat in Springfield at the last minute (due to the weather forecast of ice and rain) and left the condo keys in his other coat pocket.
Luckily, we're adaptable and he's quick on his feet. So we met at a local breakfast joint with our Mark Pierce, Rotary District Governor who is from Warrensburg and Brad Bodenhausen the coordinator of our program and our lifeline who is from the Springfield Chamber of Commerce. He has also participated in a GSE exchange.
After breakfast, our condos were unlocked, and we were able to finalize a lot of planning. We worked on our team gifts for our host families and Rotaries, vocational visits, our presentation and finally (maybe most importantly) our team uniforms. For some reason, the clothing portion of our discussion was the most animated.
After deciding on the final looks we would have, we decided, 'Hey, we're near the outlet malls, let's just go shopping.' Much to my delight.
Christie and I sent the boys off and set out to look for our blazers, shirts and pants/skirts.
You know how when you go shopping with a friend and you like something or not? Or know you wouldn't wear it but it is so your friend's style? Well, it's a little more difficult when you are buying essentially matching outfits. Thankfully, we both like similar styles, and often found ourselves eyeing the exact same thing.
Oh, I lied. I did snap one photo of this gorgeous blazer we thought we were going to have to leave behind. Yes. I took a photo of a jacket because I was sad I would miss it.
We saw it and melted. However, we thought it was out of our budget. So we left it. As we met the guys in the car, they noticed our sadness. (Hey, we're girls. We get sad over clothes!) We made our way to Kohl's where the guys found almost identical blazers to our previous find and a 20% off coupon. And well, we found okay-blue blazers, just not as pretty as the ones before. So our team leader so generously said, we're going back. And you have never seen two girls be happier.
After many high-fives for being the best dressed GSE team ever, it was back to the condo to decompress and get ready for dinner.
We went to a local Mexican restaurant and luck would have it, our waiter spoke essentially no English. A great way to practice. At one point he asked if we needed another minute, to which I replied yes, thinking he had asked if we had had enough time, so, there is still so much to learn and prepare for!
As we were at dinner it started to ice so we made the trek back to our condo to watch a little football and ended up introducing Parker to Scattergories.
All day, Parker had been trying to think of nicknames for all of us. Christie was easy. She gets really, really excited about all things Missouri agriculture. So much so that you find yourself super engaged in a discussion of elderberries and grapes. So Uva (grape) was born.
During the game of Scattergories, Parker made a fatal mistake. He made his list with the wrong letter. We all have done this before. As soon as he realized it, he said, 'Oh, no. I took a wrong turn.' And thus, Wrong Turn was christened as his name. After 12 hours together, this probably seemed funnier to us than you. That's a good sign. We are already stupid together. Which to me, is the best team-building experience there is.
Sadly, I do not believe I came away with a nickname and I can not remember Jimmy's?? (Edit: Jimmy was christened with Poncho.)
On Sunday, we woke up to coffee (some of us might have a caffeine problem) and breakfast (some of us might have a hunger problem). We then discussed our presentations in depth so we could finish those.
Mid-morning, a former GSE team leader and past-district governor of Rotary came to talk to us. Raymond Plue led his group to India in 2004. He had some great advice on what to prepare for and ideas for us as a team. He also told us a ton of history on the GSE, which is pretty awesome because we are the last GSE team (as it is now).
Raymond is one of the best story tellers I have ever met. His stories come to life. He often had us laughing and occasionally had us near tears. He created such a vivid picture of what this GSE experience will mean to us professionally and personally. He has had so many experiences traveling the world as a Rotarian (often on motorcycle). It's just unreal we are getting this opportunity.
I came away with so much from Raymond, but I'll reserve that for another post.
After meeting with Raymond, we moved on to Tan-Tar-A for group and individual pictures. Paul had traveled to Ecuador with our photographer Linda Nichols, another Rotarian. She also had many stories to share of foreign travel to keep us laughing during our quick photo shoot.
We have one more face-to-face meeting scheduled in February and might squeeze one more in March. And then we're off.
It's starting to get more real.
The bad news: I didn't get any pictures!
The good news: We successfully spent over 24 hours together.
The weekend began with the first roadblock we encountered as a team. I'm sure we'll see many more (and worse). Our team leader changed his coat in Springfield at the last minute (due to the weather forecast of ice and rain) and left the condo keys in his other coat pocket.
Luckily, we're adaptable and he's quick on his feet. So we met at a local breakfast joint with our Mark Pierce, Rotary District Governor who is from Warrensburg and Brad Bodenhausen the coordinator of our program and our lifeline who is from the Springfield Chamber of Commerce. He has also participated in a GSE exchange.
After breakfast, our condos were unlocked, and we were able to finalize a lot of planning. We worked on our team gifts for our host families and Rotaries, vocational visits, our presentation and finally (maybe most importantly) our team uniforms. For some reason, the clothing portion of our discussion was the most animated.
After deciding on the final looks we would have, we decided, 'Hey, we're near the outlet malls, let's just go shopping.' Much to my delight.
Christie and I sent the boys off and set out to look for our blazers, shirts and pants/skirts.
You know how when you go shopping with a friend and you like something or not? Or know you wouldn't wear it but it is so your friend's style? Well, it's a little more difficult when you are buying essentially matching outfits. Thankfully, we both like similar styles, and often found ourselves eyeing the exact same thing.
Oh, I lied. I did snap one photo of this gorgeous blazer we thought we were going to have to leave behind. Yes. I took a photo of a jacket because I was sad I would miss it.
We saw it and melted. However, we thought it was out of our budget. So we left it. As we met the guys in the car, they noticed our sadness. (Hey, we're girls. We get sad over clothes!) We made our way to Kohl's where the guys found almost identical blazers to our previous find and a 20% off coupon. And well, we found okay-blue blazers, just not as pretty as the ones before. So our team leader so generously said, we're going back. And you have never seen two girls be happier.
After many high-fives for being the best dressed GSE team ever, it was back to the condo to decompress and get ready for dinner.
We went to a local Mexican restaurant and luck would have it, our waiter spoke essentially no English. A great way to practice. At one point he asked if we needed another minute, to which I replied yes, thinking he had asked if we had had enough time, so, there is still so much to learn and prepare for!
As we were at dinner it started to ice so we made the trek back to our condo to watch a little football and ended up introducing Parker to Scattergories.
All day, Parker had been trying to think of nicknames for all of us. Christie was easy. She gets really, really excited about all things Missouri agriculture. So much so that you find yourself super engaged in a discussion of elderberries and grapes. So Uva (grape) was born.
During the game of Scattergories, Parker made a fatal mistake. He made his list with the wrong letter. We all have done this before. As soon as he realized it, he said, 'Oh, no. I took a wrong turn.' And thus, Wrong Turn was christened as his name. After 12 hours together, this probably seemed funnier to us than you. That's a good sign. We are already stupid together. Which to me, is the best team-building experience there is.
Sadly, I do not believe I came away with a nickname and I can not remember Jimmy's?? (Edit: Jimmy was christened with Poncho.)
On Sunday, we woke up to coffee (some of us might have a caffeine problem) and breakfast (some of us might have a hunger problem). We then discussed our presentations in depth so we could finish those.
Mid-morning, a former GSE team leader and past-district governor of Rotary came to talk to us. Raymond Plue led his group to India in 2004. He had some great advice on what to prepare for and ideas for us as a team. He also told us a ton of history on the GSE, which is pretty awesome because we are the last GSE team (as it is now).
Raymond is one of the best story tellers I have ever met. His stories come to life. He often had us laughing and occasionally had us near tears. He created such a vivid picture of what this GSE experience will mean to us professionally and personally. He has had so many experiences traveling the world as a Rotarian (often on motorcycle). It's just unreal we are getting this opportunity.
I came away with so much from Raymond, but I'll reserve that for another post.
After meeting with Raymond, we moved on to Tan-Tar-A for group and individual pictures. Paul had traveled to Ecuador with our photographer Linda Nichols, another Rotarian. She also had many stories to share of foreign travel to keep us laughing during our quick photo shoot.
We have one more face-to-face meeting scheduled in February and might squeeze one more in March. And then we're off.
It's starting to get more real.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)