D 3230 PETS

The second PETS I attended over a single weekend, both in God's own country was outstanding. The first thing that struck me was the presence of almost 100% presidents elect and the enthusiasm that was in evidence.

The setting was Taj Residency at Thiruvanthapuram and the ambience this hotel provided perfectly complimented the hard work put in by the organising committee. TRF Trustee Ashok Mahajan set the tone for the sessions to follow with an insightful speech on the ways to be a successful president. PDG CSR followed with a talk on the roles and responsibilities of a president and in his own inimitable style challenged them to set high goals for themselves. The afternoon session saw RRIMC PDG Sam Moova speaking on Membership Development with emphasis on retention and education. I believe that proper education of new members about Rotary is an integral part of any retention strategy as the most vulnerable period is the initial 2-3 years after joing Rotary. If all clubs realise this and start addressing the same, I think we will be able to retain a greater percentage of our members. We should also keep in mind that a person who leaves this organisation is probably the worst advertisement for our organisation.

The second day started with my talk on service projects - the what, why & how of implementing the same. I chose to emphasize the relevance of RI's new strategic plan and its impact on how clubs can conceptualize bigger and better projects using strategic alliances with corporates and like minded organisations. The way forward, I firmly believe, hinges on our ability to forge strategic alliances and leveraging the same to make a bigger difference to our community. This plenary was followed by breakout sessions which emphasized the need for acquiring the necessary soft skills to be a successful president.

I must compliment DGE Oli for thinking of the same and going by the participants' feedback, it was a big hit. I was entrusted with the responsibility of handling the breakout session on Communication.

Though I have handled similar HR sessions outside Rotary, this was the first time I was handling this topic for Rotarians. It was indeed a challenge to devise a content which would be both interesting as well as useful to the Presidents elect. I chose to use some games and role-play to get my message across and was pleasantly surprised to see the enthusiasm of the participants who willingly volunteered to play those games and the parts in the 'role-play'. The other sessions were on team building and club administration handled by Mr.Sivakumar and PDG Subu.

The afternoon session on Public relations, a key component of our RIPE's 'bolder' theme, was handled by PDG Reghu of D3211 and he certainly brought home the need for PR and ways to successfully carry that out. His subtle sense of humour certainly kept the participants interested. Thereafter,the district chairs of various avenues answered questions from PEs.

The third and final day started with a talk on 'Joy of giving' by Rev Fr.Jegath Gasper. If there was one speech I have heard in recent times, which kept the audience spell bound and at the same time made them think , then this was it. His mastery over both english and tamil and the ease with which he switched from one to another was simply amazing. His profound knowledge was very much in evidence right through and he set the perfect platform for the seesion on TRF that followed.

Rtn T.K.Balakrishnan spoke on the resources available. It was extremely informative and am sure the PEs would have found it very useful. PDG Sunil Zachariah of D 3201 then spoke on 'Go forth to serve'. He brought forth his vast knowledge, combined it with his inimitable delivery style laced with humour, to make his point.

The entertainment on both evenings provided enough opportunities for the PEs to network and bond with each other. There was also plenty on offer to take care of both the hungry and the thirsty! The kerala theme evening on saturday was well received by the participants. The costume was ideal for that weather.

I must congratulate DGE Oli on many counts. One, for motivating all PEs to ensure near perfect attendance. Second for the way he had designed the program where plenary and break out sessions were judiciously mixed. It ensured the participants were given all necessary inputs and in addition, they had enough opportunities to get their doubhts clarified. Third, for the way he has moulded the entire team into one single unit where each one is ready to help another, so that the entire team can march forward in the coming year. It is often said that the strength of a chain is its weakest link and I dont see any weak link in this chain. Fourth, for the way he has demonstrated his commitment to continuity. Both the DGNs were there with their spouses for the entire duration of the event. This augurs well for the district. Congratulations to both DGN Sampath and DGN Raja. Fifth, for the two addresses he made, one on the first day and one on the last day, where he spoke about his thoughts on working together to make Rotary easy, effective and enjoyable.

I am sure a huge team must have worked to organise this event on such a scale. However I must specially compliment PETS leader Rtn.Mohan Raghavan, District secretary designate Rtn.Nagendra Babu and AG (admin) designate Rtn. Nazar for the way they handled everything with ease with always a smile on their lips!