Hello everyone! I hope you are doing well.

Last month we had our annual District Council Retreat where our new Assistant Governors learn leadership skills and how to contact and help their Interact clubs throughout the year. This year we have 32 high schoolers on the district council, 28 AGs and 4 on the executive board. Everyone on the council went through an application process and an interview conducted by the executive board. This year we have a younger council than usual, most of the AGs are underclassmen this year. While a lot of them may not have as much leadership experience as an older council might have had, everyone has immense potential. A younger council also gives us the opportunity to further grow the leadership of the AGs as they continue to serve on the council. Some even have the opportunity to serve on the council for their whole high school career and serve as the next District Governor.

We usually have our council retreat in Prescott. It gives the council time to get to know each other, on top of the leadership lessons. Unfortunately, this year we had to cancel the in-person retreat and move it online, due to COVID-19. While we weren’t able to interact with each other and have all our team building activities, having our retreat online gave us other opportunities to learn. Art Harrington and DG Elizabeth Mahoney were able to put the retreat together and everything went smoothly. Not only was it a great success, it was a proof of concept, and we now know we can do it again if the need arises.

We are also planning on having our Fall Leadership Conference online. Our Fall Leadership Conference is where we train the officers of Interact clubs from all around the district how to be an effective leader and how to grow their clubs. The Assistant Governors actually train the officers of their assigned clubs. Having the retreat online prepared the council for the conference and gave them a head start for online meetings and events in the future.

Last year, we unfortunately lost tons of Interact clubs because their charters had not been renewed, and we have many Rotary clubs that are not sponsoring any Interact club at all. If you are interested in sponsoring an Interact please connect with me at ashtonkling34@gmail.com or Art at arthts@msn.com. Don’t forget that Interact is the start of the chain that leads all the way to Rotary.

Thank you, and stay safe!