Rotary Club of Norwich St. Edmund

  

A Past President of the Club, shares his thoughts about…….

The need to identify suitable candidates for future GSE teams

 

 

"It is over twenty years since I joined Rotary and in that time we, in District 1080, have had some wonderful incoming GSE teams into the District, giving us the chance to increase our understanding of other parts of the world.  I remember, in particular, a team from Zambia some years back who provided a whole new perspective on life in Africa.

 

How disappointing, therefore, that as a District we don't seem able to produce large numbers of applicants wanting to join outgoing GSE teams.  Thus, when I retired as Divisional Director of a large organisation, I decided to see if I could persuade my former colleagues that the GSE experience would provide an excellent staff development opportunity.  They responded positively and, as a result, last year put forward two potential candidates who gave presentations to our Club.  Both candidates were supported by the Club and both were successful in the District selection process.  They fed back their enthusiasm for their experiences in the Philippines to colleagues and, as a result, this year our Club was invited to interview five potential candidates, each of whom had been nominated as potentially suitable by different Divisional Directors.  Other members of our Club had also brought forward potential candidates, meaning we were able to select our two nominees from a total of seven  possibles.

 

I realise that it is easier to release staff for such career development opportunities from large organisations and that in some of the smaller towns in our District, there are no such organisations.  However, if we can bring forward candidates in Norwich then it should be possible to bring forward candidates from elsewhere in the District – large public companies, central government, local government, the police (to name but a few) all seem like suitable organisations to take advantage of the opportunities and we must have members in these organisations.

 

Don't leave it to just a handful of Clubs – give 25 to 40 year olds in your community the chance of a life time to take part in a Group Study Exchange.  Start thinking about how to organise matters now, ready for the call for GSE Team Members to Michigan".

 

Bryan Stead

Past President, Rotary Club of Norwich St Edmund