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The Rotary Spark Podcast
Welcome to our dedicated podcast for Rotary International's District 5750, designed to connect our community through the power of personal storytelling. Each episode celebrates the unique journeys of our fellow Rotarians and community members, highlighting their individual experiences, motivations, and the profound impact of their service and contributions.
Join us as we dive into heartfelt discussions with individuals from all walks of life, sharing stories that inspire and foster connection.
The Rotary Spark Podcast
#0021 - Alan Norton
Discover the essence of service and leadership with our guest, Alan, as he navigates through 13 transformative years in the Rotary Club. Gain insights from Alan’s journey that began with the Midtown Rotary and his mentor, Hal Stevens, leading him to impactful roles like President and Sergeant-at-Arms. Alan shares how he eventually found his ideal fit with the Bricktown Rotary, highlighting the unique character and camaraderie of each club. His story is a testament to the power of teamwork and the importance of volunteerism, and he offers a glimpse into his future aspirations, including teaching at the President-Elect Training Seminar, showing that growth and learning are endless within Rotary.
Join us as we explore the spirit of collaboration that defines Rotary’s mission to make a global impact. Alan discusses the significance of partnerships between clubs, emphasizing that collective efforts can achieve remarkable change, from raising funds through events like "Days of Wine and Rotary" to supporting youth leadership programs. He passionately speaks about the profound effects Rotary initiatives have on communities worldwide, from vaccinations to clean drinking water, underscoring our collective ability to change lives we may never see. This episode captures the heart of Rotary’s service, inspiring Rotarians and non-Rotarians alike to contribute to a better world.
Welcome to the Rotary Spark podcast. Alan, Tell us a little bit about your Rotary journey.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you, brian, and I appreciate the opportunity to meet with you. I'm 13 years into Rotary. I started out in Midtown Rotary, which means that Charleston's on Tuesday nights and a wonderful club. I was working for a guy years ago, hal Stevens. He was a district governor at one point and Hal believed it would be good for me to get involved in a Rotary club so I could do some networking and some community service, and took his advice, joined Midtown, ended up serving as president for a year.
Speaker 2:Sargent at Arms did some foundation things we can talk about later, but I really love the idea of that. You and I we can do good things. I can go out right now and do something nice for somebody, but there's a limit to that because my time is limited, my finances are limited. If I partner with 1.3 million friends and all of us have kind of the same desire to serve the community, we can move mountains, we can do massive things around the world, and what I like about Rotary is that's the organization. That's what Rotary is. It's a community of people that want to serve, that combine all of their energies and efforts with the purpose of serving, and it's just been a blessing for me.
Speaker 1:It's been a wonderful 13, almost 14 years now. Wow, that's quite a bit of time.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So how long? You might have already mentioned this, but how long were you in?
Speaker 2:Midtown prior to shifting over to Bricktown. I was in Midtown and I want to say I was in Midtown for nine years and every club is unique. And one of the blessings, one of the cool things about Rotary International is 1.3 million members Golly, 30,000, 40,000 clubs worldwide. I've forgotten the number now. I used to have it memorized. And every club is unique in that we all operate a little bit differently. We all share a lot of the same common thread of service above self four-way test. But each club is unique in the way it operates, when it meets how many people you got the mission of the club, the purpose of the club. So I said all that to say this Midtown was arts-focused evening club meeting at an Irish pub, which is wonderful Kind of Irish.
Speaker 2:We go way back, we go back far enough and I enjoyed it very much. But the club at a certain point became something that wasn't, as I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I should. So I started looking around and I'd done some makeups at Bricktown and I liked the way the club runs. It's Monday night Again, charleston's a restaurant where there's adult beverages, if you like, to partake in that type of thing. And the club had a similar focus but it was just a better fit for me.
Speaker 2:So transitioned from Midtown to Bricktown and been a member there for three years three or four years now and just real happy. I've been a member there for three years three or four years now, and just real happy. I've been president of Bricktown for two consecutive terms and went through some leadership building, trying to build people up to want to jump in, because it's nothing to take lightly and it's a weekly event, as you're well aware. Lightly and it's a weekly event, as you're well aware. So it took a couple years to build the kind of leadership that we have now.
Speaker 1:So for new members or people that are serving but haven't been president yet, can you tell us a little bit about that experience, maybe before, during and after Pets and any of the kind ofthe-scenes takes that maybe someone who hasn't served as president would know about?
Speaker 2:Sure, sure, when I was Sergeant-at-Arms and for a new member, volunteering is vitally important to understanding how the organization works and becoming familiar with all your members club members. So Sergeant-at-Arms is a great place to start for a new member, because your job is to know who's coming to the meeting every year. You're taking a role, you're doing a role call At least that's been my experience so learn that. So, moving into president, you serve one term as president-elect, so you're practicing and you get to see what the president does. You spend time with them in their board meetings, seeing how the organization operates.
Speaker 2:The position itself can be a challenge in that if you don't have a good organization, if your team isn't good, it could be a lot of work and be probably a lot of frustration. I've been fortunate that the teams I've had as president was just amazing, and so it is kind of funny, brian. I get a lot of credit for work other people did and it's a little hard for me to accept credit for that. You know there's some. There's. Leadership means helping people stay focused and doing the right thing, but when it takes so little effort it's just an amazing thing. And you get to see people on your team have great success. You get to see your club have success. It's very rewarding to be there.
Speaker 2:Betts was a big help because I met with other presidents, other club members from around the country, around the region, and probably the greatest experience I got to have was practicing being a president as president-elect. So the president had to take off for a week, wasn't available to make a meeting. I would run the meeting. So I immediately see my challenges and my strengths. What can I do better? You know, of course, learning from the people in power is the best way to learn, so I've just been blessed by it.
Speaker 1:What are the experiences that you're having now as being immediate past president, and are there any district projects that you're currently involved with that you'd like to talk about?
Speaker 2:Well, I will be at Pence this next time around leading a class. I haven't been told on what yet, but I hope it's something I like. I expect it will be. The past president position is nice because you're still on the board. You still have some influence in the direction the club goes, but it's not your responsibility to make sure things are accomplished. So I like that part. So you get to enjoy the camaraderie. You get to enjoy the same people you've been working with for a year on your board. But you're not the responsible party Now. You're just supporting everybody else as they do what they do.
Speaker 1:Well, I look forward to seeing you at Pets, and are you going to Calgary this year?
Speaker 2:I am not going to Calgary. We went to Houston. Our club had five or six members go to Houston a couple years ago for the conference and Brian, that was amazing, it was during COVID. It was a much smaller crowd. We only had 13,000 or 14,000 people show up in Houston. I guess the groups are usually larger than that. It's interesting because there's people from all over the world there and we're in Houston, texas, at the convention center and they're talking to a guy from India and God kind of developed a relationship with him.
Speaker 2:He came back to Oklahoma to meet some friends of his who were physicians. They invited me out to a meal and I forgot the guy's name and I feel bad about that. I'll probably never see him again unless I go to africa to visit. But in the presence of his friends. I asked him. I said of the things I think, say or do, and I at him and guess what he said Is it the truth? Okay, men and women in every portion of the world share the same four rules for life, if you will. Of the things I think, say or do, is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned and I can go anywhere in the world.
Speaker 2:I was in Scotland. I went to a club meeting in Scotland. I went to a club meeting in Ireland. I went to a club meeting in Tahlequah, oklahoma. I was in Branson, missouri, at a club meeting. Everywhere I go, those four, the four-way test, is common throughout the world. So you're in good company whenever you're in a group of Rotarians because you all share the same basic and I'll use the rules for life the four-way test. So I've forgotten your question. I apologize, that's okay. So yeah, going to Calgary.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the question was going to Calgary. It's an event that I've considered myself. It's an event that I've considered myself and I've heard about really good experiences tied to some of the conferences, but what I was thinking about when you were talking was the power of unification of that 1.2 plus million people really all being on the same page.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and it is amazing because you know you have something in common with everybody there. They look nothing like you, they speak different languages, they dress differently, but you still share a common thread. And and listen in this, this time, in our, in our nation and in our world, unity is not a common thread. There's not much of it, certainly not enough of it.
Speaker 1:And so being in that type of environment is really encouraging and refreshing, I agree. Looking at the news or being at work or really any type of recreational activity with a diverse group of mindsets. I would say that conflict at least during this time period specifically is is very common. So jumping back into a rotary meeting not to say that conflict's completely gone in rotary there's it's its own flavor, but it it feels like a different type of hydration. There's a this refreshed feeling of individuals from different camps being able to get together and have healthy discourse you bet, you bet and you know there's safety in that.
Speaker 2:That's a safe community and I'm really appreciative of that because you again you walk into a group, especially if you're traveling, if you're going to visit Rotary Clubs. You have no idea what the mindset is in the community where you're going, and making it a Rotary meeting gives you some level of comfort going in. You kind of know what to expect. Now you mentioned projects. We are right now working on partnering with a club in Mexico for a project. It'll be our first international project. That'll be cool if it gets done. The international projects normally take a while to get done because you've got players in the receiving country, because you've got players in the receiving country and you've got the clubs here in the US or wherever they happen to be, that sponsor the project, and so it doesn't happen overnight. I kind of wish it would be a little bit faster, but it's not. But something else that's going on that our club, bricktown, has done is we have partnered with local nonprofits to help people that either are disabled or seniors aging in place, and I know you may have heard of some of this, but it's something I really want to focus on this coming year In the United States of America, 10,000 people a day turn 65, and 4,000 a day turn 85.
Speaker 2:So I've heard it called the silver tsunami and it's quite a term. But there's this massive shift of baby boomers that are experiencing a change of life again we all go through. Life is one big change. If we're fortunate, we go through a 20 or 30 or 40 year period where there's a lot of stability. You get to another place in your 60s, 70s and 80s where what you did when you were 40 is no longer what you do. What you could do in your 40 is no longer what you can do when you're 65 or 70.
Speaker 2:Okay, so how can Rotary Clubs find a way to? And it could be something simple. We did a wheelchair ramp for one guy not too long ago. It could be something as simple as hand grips in showers for seniors. They're trying to age in place. Living in a retirement community is very expensive and if you already own your home, it's paid for. Well, how can you extend that time there for another three or four or five years where you're safe in your own home? Safe in your own home? And I'd like to partner with other roadery clubs around the country and and find a way to look at that community and try to determine that they've served us their entire lives. These, these baby boomers, have committed themselves, whether intentionally or not. We're benefiting, we're the beneficiaries of a lot of what they've done and it seems like it's only fair that we try to find a way to pay that back a little bit as they start facing some challenges.
Speaker 1:If that makes sense. It definitely does. They've, in a lot of ways, built everything that we have, absolutely. What's the next step of expanding this project?
Speaker 2:Well, the biggest obstacle we have? Well, there's two, I think. Listen, I haven't sat down and written down a list of challenges, but the two that come to mind. Sat down and written down a list of challenges, but the two that come to mind. Number one is opportunity to serve this community, because people in general are proud Americans maybe more than other countries, I don't know but a lot of people don't like asking for help when you visit with somebody. They're not going to share the downsides of their life.
Speaker 2:Now there are some people that do and they enjoy it, and you know those people. You can't afford them or you can't avoid them, but for the most part, people don't want to share their hardship. So, finding the opportunity to help an individual our club's got the word out, we're trying to get the word out. And, secondly, getting enough clubs on board that are willing to share the burden of that, because any one club listen if we've got a $20,000 annual budget for everything that we do and all that money goes back out somewhere, it can't all go to one place and we could easily spend $20,000 just on this. So, partnering with other clubs around the country, perhaps around the world I don't know that there's any rules or limitations, but finding partners, and those partners are going to also have people in their communities that need help. So getting the word out, partnering with other clubs and breaking through the pride of.
Speaker 1:I don't need any help. I like the idea a lot, at the very least. I think one thing that may help is when additional Rotarians come on to the podcast. We can definitely bring up the project as it develops. So if there are additional individuals from the Bricktown Rotary Club or partnering clubs, we can continue this discussion so that, as it comes to be, it'll have more of a spotlight. The other thing that I can offer is that when it develops a name, I can help create the website at the very least, and contribute some media, and we'll continue to work together. Well, that's very generous Thank you.
Speaker 2:I appreciate that, and it is it's in its infancy, so we're still figuring out how to maneuver through this, but service above self is what Rotary stands for, and I believe this is a big need. I think there's a problem that needs to be addressed here, and I'd like to be a part of it.
Speaker 1:I like that a lot, so tell me a little bit about the events at Bricktown that I should already be aware of as a new member.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm glad you asked me that, brian.
Speaker 2:We've got the Days of Wine and Rotary coming up. I'm sure you've heard of it. Talk of it anyway. It's a fundraiser that we've had since the club began, so it's a 20-year-old drive. We do it's a fundraising drive. Days of Wine Rotary is wine-focused. We'll have live music, we'll have finger foods and lots of wine and there will be an open bar for those that don't like wine. It's designed.
Speaker 2:In fact, this year a portion of the funds we raise will go to ryla, which is rotary youth leadership awards, and ryla is an amazing summer camp for kids, high school kids I want to say 13 to 16 brian are the ages and I could be off a year on either side. I've been to rile to to observe and they're teaching these young people leadership characteristics that they're not learning anywhere else. And we've actually had professionals come back to speak to our club that were in rile as young people and they, uh, they really were consciously pointing to Riley as a major life change for them in the way they view life and the responsibilities. However, ryle is a lot of fun. Kids have a great time with it. There's a lot of a lot of camaraderie. This camaraderie is built. Ryle is actually run by graduates of Ryle. So this isn't something that it's Rotary members volunteer from their club to go run the deal. It's actually kids that have been through the process a number of years and become leaders of Ryla and so it's continuing to build leadership, generational leadership, amazing program. So part of the money we raise will go to Ryla to support that, to Ryla, to support that. The other money we use will be like we have been lately giving to Christmas nonprofits that help kids with Christmas gifts. We've helped gosh a number of nonprofits here in town throughout the last year. I think we've given away $11,000 or $12,000 in the last six months just to these different organizations. Yeah, it's amazing, it really is, and I feel good about that. These fundraisers are a way for us to help everybody have a good time. The events are fun, we have a great time with them and we know that the money we raise will not be staying in anybody's bank account but it's immediately going back out or quickly going back out into the community where we all live to help people that are unseen by most. So we're making a difference.
Speaker 2:I tell Rotarians all the time at a meeting. You and I are in a meeting, brian, and if I happen to be leading the meeting and I've done this a number of times I look at every Rotarian and whoever's listening to this. If you're a Rotarian, I'm looking at you too. You're making a difference in the lives of people around the world, whether you mean to or not. When you're a Rotarian, you're paying dues into an organization that's changing lives around the world, into an organization that's changing lives around the world. So I could say, brian, while you're sleeping tonight, someone's life has changed because of you, because of your commitment to Rotary and the funds that you place into Rotary that are used around the world to make a difference, whether you're saving lives from vaccinations or you're providing fresh drinking water to a village where people have had to go down to the river and bring water up by the bucket.
Speaker 2:It's amazing, brian, that we we're so and listen, I spoiled implies that we we've done something wrong.
Speaker 2:I don't see it that way at all, but we're unconsciously benefiting in ways that other people around the world have no idea about.
Speaker 2:And when I say that, when you get up this morning, you probably went into your bathroom.
Speaker 2:You turned on, you turned the knob, fresh, clean water came out of the little hole and you're able to brush your teeth or get a drink of water, and then you turn it off and the water goes away. If there's another knob on the other side, you turn that one and hot water comes out. And there are places in the world where they don't know what that looks like and it sounds crazy. It's hard to imagine, but we're living in such a blessed time, in such a blessed place, that if we can take some of what we do and sow little seeds around the world and that's what Rotary does we all put together into a pot and that money is distributed. And then listen, we've got volunteers that go out and give immun. And then, listen, we got volunteers to go out give immunizations. We got volunteers that go out and help with this drilling the wells. So it's not just the money, but but rotary does a lot of good things around the world and we are we're contributing to that.
Speaker 1:Okay, it gives a an additional meaning to the symbolism tied to the Wheel of Excellence.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, absolutely. And, like I said earlier, I can do something all by myself with my resources, but there's a limit. Rotary International has so many members contributing so much in their time and their finances that we're able to literally change the world. Polio used to be a disease here in the United States and I know Jack Warner probably talked about it some. Polio is no longer a disease that most countries in the world even know about or see because of what Rotary has done giving immunizations, sending immunizations around the world. Know about or see because of what Rotary has done giving immunizations, sending immunizations around the world, going to villages that are off the beaten path to immunize, if immunized, to give kids little immunizations to keep from getting polio. So it's way bigger than what you think.
Speaker 1:For new Rotarians or anyone outside of Rotary that wants to contribute more and live a better life. What tips would you have for them?
Speaker 2:Wow, Well, that's a big question. I'll tell you what I anybody, rotarian or not. My observations over these years have been, and my experience has been, that when I'm serving other people, my problems seem to be smaller, and when I join with other people whose desire is to serve as well, the good relationships come out of it, Happiness comes out of it. If I had to find one thing to do today to feel good, I'd find someplace to go serve. The second thing I would do is watch an old, funny movie. But you know, life isn't about spinning. It's not about what you and I do individually by ourselves. It's about what we do for other people.
Speaker 2:And Rotary is that way your business can be, that way your neighborhood can be that, uh, friend of mine and I walk together. It's a relation. James is 80 years old and and I'm not, and, uh, james and I were walking for a while there in my neighborhood every morning, just just to be together, just to spend time together. Man, I can learn a lot from an 80 year old guy. It was, it's amazing. And he's still a close friend of mine. So so this lone wolfing, is this this lone ranger kind of lifestyle that maybe we grew up thinking that's who we're called to be.
Speaker 2:I've re-evaluated that and I see that the strength that I believe is available to all of us is found in community, and whether that's a nonprofit or a church community or a softball team or bowling league, whatever it is, brian, we're not meant to spend time alone, and so success. And here's a cool thing so you're hanging out with your team, you've got your community, and I'm a real estate investor. I buy and sell houses, I rent houses. Well, if my team knows what I do and Aunt Susie inherits a house or somebody's got to move, or when things happen that are tied to my business, I'm usually the first guy to hear about it. Okay, and if you're a plumber, for example, and a buddy of mine has a leaky sink, well, guess who I'm going to tell him about. So community is good for your inner being, because you feel better just being around other people, and it's also good for your business, for your social network. So, if that answers your question, that does answer my question.
Speaker 1:Do you have any additional plugs that you want to put in before we wrap up?
Speaker 2:Well, I mentioned the Days of Wine and Rotary which is coming up I think it's in May and Bricktown Rotary is where you'll find that out. I should know, but I can help you find it. The other fundraiser we do is called the Hit-A-Thon Bricktown Rotary Hit-A-Thon this will be our third annual, if I'm not mistaken, and that involves a bunch of us getting together and hitting a softball. There's a pitching machine, a friend shows up, one of the club members shows up with the pitching machine and we all get sponsors to sponsor us by the foot. So I think I hit 205 feet last year. So if you sponsor me a dollar a foot, that's $205. So the goal is to get as many sponsors as you can to sponsor you for whatever number by the foot, and we all get together, have a great time. There's some hot dogs and hamburgers and beer and soda and water.
Speaker 2:I think we had a couple of games we played on the side of the field last year and we just had a good time and raised money and we can. If you want to come hit the ball with us, you're welcome to do that. We kind of open it up to visitors and folks to come over and swing a bat, and it's one of those things, brian, where nobody is, there's no judgment. If it takes me 10 swings to hit the ball, then that's what it takes me Not a big deal so, but it's a fundraiser that we look forward to. We have a good time with it and I'd encourage you to try to join us. Well, you will join us next time, but tell your friends.
Speaker 1:I'm excited, and for more information. Your friends, I'm excited, and for more information. Bricktownrotaryorg and Rotary5750.org are the two websites that you're going to go to to find out more information about these events. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Panera Bread Rotary, District 5750, Bricktown Rotary and ITSpark for all of your support. Have a great night, everyone. Thank you.
