“When I joined Rotary, I was pleased to see that the club enjoyed having a good time together. One of my top priorities as Rotary president is to continue the tradition of having interesting, purposeful and fun Rotary meetings.” said Olson who is also the director of institutional relations for the Waldorf Lutheran College Foundation. “I want fellow Rotarians to be eager to attend meetings and make it a priority in their schedules.”
Sworn in early July, Olson has prepared to be the president since she joined the club in 2007, and has been in various leadership roles since then. She started as the program director-elect, became the program director and recently was the vice president-elect.In March this year, she attended a conference for presidents-elect of Rotary Clubs from throughout the state of Iowa and heard interesting stories about previous presidents who made their meetings engaging for the members. Inspired by the conference, Olson started prepping for her new role immediately. Since the beginning of July, she has already introduced and implemented several new ideas for the club that will make the experience more exciting for the members.
Walk into Olson’s office and a three-foot-tall trophy sits on her credenza. The trophy’s been named the “Class Act Award” which stands for Community Leaders Acting with Selfless Service—All Collaborating Together. Each week, one Rotarian will have an opportunity to place a single item on the trophy that symbolizes one way in which he or she has performed a service or impacted another life in the community. Olson was the first one to initiate the new tradition by placing the ace of diamonds (a playing card) that signified her association with a card club that has performed countless acts of service together.
“By the end of the year, there will be 53 items on the trophy,” said Olson, pointing out the number of members in the club. “I put a card, somebody else might add a garden seed, a pack of coffee or tea, or a golf tee. The possibilities are endless, and it will be fun to see what new items are added.” she said.
Olson’s idea behind the trophy was to bring out the creativity in every Rotarian and also give each member the opportunity to choose the next week’s recipient. The reason for receiving the award could be almost anything.
A resident of Forest City for 34 years, Olson wants other Forest City residents to learn more about Rotary. She has created “elevator speech” cards that list Rotary International facts on one side and the purpose of the local club on the other. Next on her agenda is starting an award program that recognizes a member’s years of service as a Rotarian. “Currently we recognize a member’s attendance for which they get a certificate. In addition to that, it would be really meaningful to give out awards for the different years of service. One of our members has been a Rotarian for 51 years and several others for over 35 years. Now that deserves recognition!” she said.
In the months to come, the new president also plans to update the current club handbook, ask members to learn the four-way test, and brainstorm new fundraising ideas. At present, the club is working toward collecting items such as clothing, hygiene items, pens, pencils, notebooks, games and toys to put in at least 40 shoeboxes that will be sent to Nicaragua in Central America.
“My hope and prayer is that as we Rotarians perform selfless acts of service, lives will be transformed in the process,” said Olson. “Imagine the impact we can make as we provide clean water to people in third world countries, help eradicate polio in the entire world or supply food to the local food bank.”
The group meets at noon every Tuesday in the beautifully restored ballroom in historic Salveson Hall on the Waldorf campus and enjoys a wonderful lunch catered by Brian Keely, the director of campus dining at Waldorf.
If you are interested in joining the Rotary Club, please contact Nancy Olson at (641) 585-8147 or olsonn@waldorf.edu
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