Ten Southern Region members enjoyed their trip to Taipei, Taiwan for the 40th Biennial Convention. Governor Nidia, Governor-elect Priscilla (also Renaissance Membership Chair), Renaissance Chairs Louise Barlow-Public Relations, Caroline Feagley- Program Council, Theresia Carrington- Fundraising, Nancy Kitchens- SI/Huntsville Treasurer, Past Governor & Region Parliamentarian Mary Jo Horton, President Margaret McCaffery - SI/Coral Gables (also UN Chair), President Paula Moore and Past Governor Alicia-SI/Ft. Lauderdale, joined the over 1700 Soroptimists. Although suffering from jet lag and on different sleep schedules we managed to attend the many meetings and workshops. We had fun at our dinners and on the tours offered.
Governor’s Round Table & Convention Happenings
On July 13th at the Far Eastern Shangri-La the 28 region Governors of the Federation of the Americas got to know each other at Dinner. The Governor’s Round Table began and we met for 2 consecutive days. The Governor’s we given information on topics dealing with good governance and discussed SIA and Region By-laws, strategic planning, expectations and responsibilities of the job and even moving into being a past governor. On July 15th Region Chairs joined the Governors and the training continued. I am proud to say that we were one of about 5 regions who had all four Renaissance chairs attending the convention. I’m sure that our Renaissance chairs will be sharing what they learned with you in the next few months. We were able to network with other region leaders at the Leadership Reception. The leadership was also invited to a huge banquet with entertainment hosted by the Taiwan’s Region 21 clubs. Course after course of their native dishes were served. Our hostesses were terrific and even saw to it that we had professional dancers for partners for the dancing that followed. I want to personally thank our Renaissance Chairs for taking the time (&$) to get this education.
The Convention started on the 16th with the Emerging Leader‘s General Session. The Friendship dinner had the ladies meeting and greeting in all the different languages of the Federation. Our dinner consisted of 12 courses and we were entertained by several of the clubs in Taiwan. On July 17th the General Session was opened and it ended with the graduation of the emerging leaders and the introduction of the incoming board and governors at the closing session July 19th. Maggie McCaffery was a graduate of the Emerging Leaders program and marched proudly in her cap and gown. I was so honored to be there to represent you as your Region Governor. The convention ended with the very elegant Live Your Dream Banquet. The attendance was phenomenal so that at all of the dinners, the times and venues had to be changed to accommodate the numbers.
Next Year Chicago will host The Professional Development Seminars,
July 3-4, 2009.
The 41st Biennial Convention is July 7-10, 2010 at the Hilton in San Francisco, California. Our own Louise Barlow won the raffle for an all expense paid trip to this convention.
I will have a full report at your District Meetings.
August is the time to: Review your club procedures and by laws, Follow-up on audit of club books (this should be completed by end of month), Complete club’s roster, Notify members to save the date for district meeting and let them know that the call should soon arrive, Prepare for September board and business meetings, Send written meeting notifications to officers and members if your club has been “dark” in July and August.
If you haven’t done so order your materials for the Violet Richardson, Women’s Opportunity, and Making a Difference Awards.
Your outgoing President should have passed on the Club Leadership Handbook to your incoming President. We will be updating these at the President’s Round Table at District Meetings.
…. To improve the lives of women and girls in local communities and throughout the world.
When inviting guests and/or prospective members to attend a club meeting, make a special effort to identify your projects and internal activities during all reports from officers and chairmen. It’s easy to use our Soroptimist vocabulary, such as WOA, SIA, VRA, WOD, and Southern Accent. You know what these mean --but think of how confused the guests will be during your meeting reports if these terms of "Soroptimist Jargon” aren't defined.
To lead is to serve. Leadership on every level is a call to service, not merely an occasion for pride, honor or personal gain.
Speak well of your officers to outsiders, or at least refrain from needlessly publicizing any defects. Give your official representatives respect and cooperation. Even if you didn’t vote for your officers, they represent you. They should have the whole-hearted respect you would expect if you were in their place. Offer questions, don’t tell them only what you think they want to hear, yet on the other hand, and don’t keep serving critical complaints.
District meetings and Leadership Training to "Recruit, Retain and REmember":
District I The Palm Beaches-September 26-27,
District II Upper Pinellas - October 10-11,
District III Atlanta - October 17-18,
District IV Franklin - October 3-4 2008.
R&R chair still needed for District III: The R/R chairperson will have the responsibility of being in contact with the clubs in her district with recruitment and retention strategies and helping in these areas in her District.
To mark the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Soroptimist International, as one of the United Nations Category One Non-Governmental Organizations, will have three seats at the September 3 - 5, 2008 Conference. For the first time, Soroptimist International has offered one of its seats to only those among the 90,000 members who are UNDER 35 years of age and who have exhibited exceptional international leadership potential. Shireen Lackey, 29 year old President of SI/Largo Mid-Pinellas was chosen to fill that prestigious Conference Seat. This year’s Conference is being organized in partnership with the NGO/DPI Executive Committee, UNESCO, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Government of France. This is the first time the Conference will take place outside the UN Headquarters in New York. This is not the first honored Leadership Role for which Shireen has been chosen. In 2006, she was named one of Tampa Bay’s “30 under 30”and in 2007 she was awarded a trip to Soroptimist International of the Americas Professional Development Seminar in Philadelphia. A few weeks ago Shireen was accepted to the Veterans Benefits Administration's national leadership program, called the Leadership Enhancement and Development (LEAD) Program. This is an outstanding Soroptimist member. Unfortunately Shireen will not be compensated for any of the expenses. If you can be of help in acquiring funds for this trip I’m sure Shireen will be deeply grateful.
Launch APRIL 23-26, 2009:
Fly Me to the Moon!
The 2009 Conference.
Huntsville Space and Rocket Center. The Embassy Suites will be our home and Ruth’s Chris our caterer. Watch our Region's Website for updates on what's going on in preparation for the Conference Launch.
Southern Region Website: http://soroptimistsr.org