Lessons from Raymond

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).