Albuquerque Rotary - Meeting Information

(This document to be given to the speaker by the Sponsor as soon as he/she has been selected (approved). This can be in hard copy or electronic format.)

ABOUT THE CLUB

The Rotary Club of Albuquerque (RCA) is the second oldest club in this region and was established in 1916 (the oldest is the club in El Paso which was established in 1914). The club currently has about 250 members, and on average, about 150 or so attend our weekly (Monday) meetings. There are three other Rotary Clubs in Albuquerque area, the Del Norte, the Del Sol, and the Rio Grande Rotary Clubs. All of these have memberships that are considerably smaller than the Albuquerque Rotary Club.

The membership of our club includes many who are Albuquerque’s leaders in business and professional activities. While the average age of the audience is relatively high (over 50), we have a considerable number of younger members as well. About 40% of our members are women.

Our President for 2009-2010 is Dr. John Shomaker, CEO of John Shomaker and Associates, Inc., Water Resource and Environmental Consultants. Our President-elect is Robert L. Boverie, Coldwell Banker Legacy, which handles Real Estate and Residential Sales. We have an Executive Administrator, Ann E. Singer, and an Office at 3301 Menaul Blvd., N.E., Nr. 22, just to the west of American Furniture. Phone is (505) 242-2651 and fax (505) 843-8809. Our office mailing address is P.O. Box 3807, Albuquerque, N.M., 87190. The e-mail for Ann Singer is “asinger@rotaryabq.org” and the web site “www.rotaryabq.org”. The Rotary International website is “www.rotary.org”.

ABOUT THE WEEKLY MEETINGS

Weekly meetings are held each Monday (except for some holidays) and generally take place at the Hotel Albuquerque in Old Town, the former Sheraton Old Town Hotel, 800 Rio Grande Blvd., N.W. (telephone number (505) 843-6300). The buffet line (no charge for you and up to two guests) opens at 11:30 a.m. and the program starts promptly at noon, ending around 1 to 1:10 p.m. An example of a typical meeting sequence is as follows:

Ø 12 noon, President’s welcome, “Greet your neighbor”

Ø A song, followed by Pledge of Allegiance and Invocation

Ø President’s Announcements

Ø “Enjoy your Lunch”

Ø Introduction of guests and visiting Rotarians and other business

Ø SPEAKER’S PROGRAM will start at 12:35 p.m. at the latest.

§ Speaker will be introduced by Your Sponsor (the introduction is 2 minutes or less. To the sponsor: this is about the background of the speaker, not about your connection with the speaker, etc.).

§ Speaker: twenty-five minutes plus Q and A from audience.

§ President’s presentation to Speaker.

Ø President’s concluding remarks

Ø Thought for the Day (usually connected to Speaker’s topic)

Ø Adjournment “Rotary has been served”

If you are invited to be the program speaker for such a program, PLEASE MAKE SURE TO BE AT OUR MEETING ROOM in the Hotel Albuquerque at Old Town NO LATER THAN 11:40 A.M.!! We usually meet in the Franciscan Ballroom, just off the main entrance. You can park in front of the hotel, off Rio Grande Boulevard. You will be advised by your Sponsor if another room is being used that day.

ABOUT THE TALK ITSELF

The Speakers Committee urges chosen speakers to tailor their presentations with minimal emphasis on PowerPoint sequences. A computer projection system and screen are available in the meeting/lunch room of the hotel. However, because of the large size of the room and the lay-out of tables during the luncheon gathering, presentations that are wrapped around a dense PowerPoint sequence are difficult to follow and are commonly not successful. Furthermore, those who are seated furthest from the screen often complain that very little of any of the slides could be seen. Some graphical and photographic illustrations (if they are large in format) do fine, but complex text slides, with moving bullet points (etc.) generally fail completely. If the speaker has a few graphical illustrations and some tabular information that are central to the presentation (that will help the main theme of the talk) such can also be put together on the two sides of a single page (as a handout produced by the speaker), to be distributed among the lunch tables. (There are commonly 16 tables of 10 members each; if each table has 5 single sheet handouts that would come to a total of 80 copies to be brought by the speaker).

Videos that may relate to the presentation (such as DVDs that were designed originally for marketing purposes) must not be used.

The person who recommended that you be the speaker is the person who will be your main point of contact for all the details of your presentation including the date, etc. That person will meet you, introduce you and ensure you have all your questions answered. We call that person your Sponsor.

SPEAKER GUIDELINES FOR ACCEPTED PROGRAMS

Once you have received an invitation to make a presentation, or your suggested program has been approved, the club will need some materials from you to make sure that your subject and professional background are distributed to club members (via an e-mail announcement from the Rotary Club to the membership) several days before your scheduled presentation. This means having the following material sent by e-mail to Ann Singer as soon as you are confirmed as a Speaker. These are

1) The title of your presentation;

2) A color, or black and white photograph of you, in electronic format;

3) A biographical sketch, somewhere around 150 to 200 words, in a narrative format (please, not just a listing of dates, appointments, or job titles), and perhaps a short paragraph that expands on the title of your presentation, and;

4) The best way to reach you, such as a phone or fax number, as well as your e-mail and mailing address. The above information must reach the Rotary Club Office no later than two weeks before your scheduled presentation and should be e-mailed to Ann Singer, at “asinger@rotaryabq.org”;

5) Please send an e-mail copy of what you sent to Ann Singer to your Sponsor as well. This contact with your Sponsor may help with his/her introduction.

Please remember, as stated earlier, audio-visual equipment is not particularly good for any presentation in the present lunch room format. If a PowerPoint presentation is truly essential, we suggest that a minimal number of illustrations be used, consisting of photographs and simple graphics (not complex text images, as noted above).

A few more points, regarding the actual presentation. Please remember the time allotted is 25 minutes. Remember also to present your subject such that the members will be engaged. With speakers every week, we have many lessons learned: Speeches that are read are not successful. Refrain from promoting any specific product or program, and also refrain from anything that might suggest fund raising for whatever the excellent cause might be. The Rotary Club has it own processes for annual fund raising and allocation of such funds.

If you are planning to provide any kind of leaflets or other promotional items, their content must be approved before distribution. Generally such fliers are stacked on a table close to the registration desk in the lobby of the hotel. Handouts that illustrate aspects of the talk are set out on the lunch tables, about five per table. Please contact the club for advice (505) 242-2651.

The Club has a publicity committee that regularly notifies the media about our programs. The media may, at times, be in attendance during a presentation. If you need to know whether this might occur, please call the club.

Well, all is finally said and done! THE ROTARY CLUB IS MOST GRATEFUL TO YOU FOR AGREEING TO MAKE A PRESENTATION IN OUR WEEKLY PROGRAM!