SELECTING YOUR DISTRICT 5440 LEADERSHIP
SERVING WITH THE BEST
  
The Rotary Clubs of District 5440 are dedicated to humanitarian service, working “hands on” and through support of The Rotary Foundation.  The district governor and the District 5440 team help to provide clubs and Rotarians with necessary resources, education, motivation, and inspiration to grow membership and increase their ability to serve others.  The role played by the governance team is critical to the ongoing success of the district.  The search for dedicated Rotarians to fill these positions is one of our highest priorities.
 
The Selection Process
All clubs will be asked to submit suggestions for nominations for governor, and these should be in the form of a resolution adopted at a regular meeting of the club naming the suggested candidate. As with all elective offices in Rotary “any effort to influence the selection process for an elective office in positive or negative manner by campaigning, canvassing, electioneering or otherwise is prohibited,” according to Rotary’s bylaws.
 
Each fall candidates are interviewed to serve as district governor-nominee.   The successful candidate will participate in an extensive training and leadership development program culminating in service as District 5440 Governor three years later.
 
The District Nominating Committee is comprised of the five most recent past district governors and two past presidents of District 5440 Rotary clubs. The meeting to select the nominee for the 2023-24 year will be held in October 2020.
 
Duties and Responsibilities
The nominee designate will be encouraged to attend all district meetings and events, including the Presidents Elect Training Seminar (PETS)  expanding knowledge of the operation of District 5440 and working with the current governor on the important task of building appreciation, understanding, and support of The Rotary Foundation.
 
The governor nominee joins his or her “class” of nominees from 29 other Rotary districts in the western United States for training and education in the following year seeing, meeting, and learning and making new friends and contacts. The governor elect year is one of more learning, but mostly planning and assembling the team of Rotarians that will serve on and lead the various committees that assist the clubs.
 
 
General Information
While several past governors have been retired, others continued to be actively employed.  Spouses, partners, or friends have often accompanied the governor in their club visits and other appearances. 
 Rotary International and District 5440 pay the expenses of attending training in the governor nominee and governor elect years, and for the governor. The governor elect and the governor also attend the Rotary International Convention as representatives of our district. Although most of the expenses for the governor are reimbursed, there may be some expenses that will not be covered by Rotary International and district allocations, such as gifts for staff or other personal items.
 
Special Circumstances – After COVID-19
It is unclear what the future environment will be for Rotary meetings, training and larger group activities.  We are all working our way through the current crisis, but we do know that while some things will be familiar, other processes may be quite different.  We need to capitalize on the lessons learned to avoid missing future opportunities during the period of change.
  
The traditional training and service model for those in the district leadership progression has worked well, but the new reality created by the current COVID-19 pandemic may require both short and long-term change.  Extensive travel, leadership attendance at large numbers of club functions and celebrations and the very nature of weekly meetings may require new flexibility and innovation for Rotary to thrive.  Changing times require strong leadership, making our search and encouragement of future leaders more important than ever. 
 
Questions please contact PDG Ken Small, Chair, District Nominating Committee 2020-202, d5440dg2015@gmail.com