Magical Moments from the 2025 District Conference in Statesville!

The District Conference in Statesville was a wonderful capstone on this magical year for District 7680 and a “first” on several levels:

• First time ever in Statesville NC!
• First time conference was two hours or less from every club in the District!
• First time (in a long time!) where conference was two days instead of three!

From the unofficial start on Thursday evening, where our Conference Committee and a few Past District Governors, welcomed our RI Representative, PDG Deb Cheney and her husband Chris, until our closing panel discussion on Saturday afternoon, we packed a lot into the abbreviated time we were together. And I cant mention our RI Representative without a special thanks to PDG Beth Trotter for her superb job as official aide to PDG Deb and Chris during their time with us!

The first day started with getting to the Statesville Civic Center at about 8:00 am. When I arrived, Co-chair Hayden, Wally and Steve Buteau were already setting up the backdrop in the main hall and getting the House of Friendship tables set up. Co-chair Maureen arrived with the swag bags which had been mostly stuffed the night before by Interact students. We met some representatives from Platinum Sponsor Center Well who gave us additional items to place in the bags and so we got that done.

At 1:00, we officially began the Conference with welcoming remarks from Iredell County Manager Beth Milton followed by remarks from me, PDG Deb, and Hayden. I asked two questions during my remarks:

1. How many people were attending their first District event and
2. How many people had been in Rotary less than two years.

I was amazed at the number of people in attendance who said this was their first District event. PDG Deb said she was amazed at the number of people who were first-timers. I estimated that at least a third of those in attendance were there for the first time. And at least the same amount said they had two years or less in Rotary. These were two of my priorities when planning this Conference. I wanted members who had never been to a Rotary event outside of their clubs and newer members. These folks are our future as we think about leadership and continuity. Having them more deeply engaged in Rotary and involved in club leadership will help all of us to not only survive as clubs but to grow.

The afternoon sessions were focused on exploring our Action Plan and its four priorities. We had learning facilitators or District leaders heading up presentations into each of these four areas:

• Increasing our Impact as Clubs: Georgia Oakes and Lorena Prince
• Expanding our Reach as Clubs: Chris Arline and Rina Arline
• Enhancing Participant Engagement: Marcia Scheideman and Allison Burkett
• Increasing our Ability to Adapt: Kate Tocci and Sharon Heinrich

Those sessions were followed by shorter speed sessions which were tied to one of the four priorities of the Action Plan in order to give our attendees a practical application of that priority.

We had several events prior to the Awards Celebration, including a Rotary Means Business session led by Andrea Sipka and a Major Donor VIP Reception. Andrea said she had about 50 Rotarians in her session.

Our evening Awards Celebration started with a wonderful number from Opera Soprano Melinda Whittington, who presented us with a rendition of the Dickinson poem, “I Shall Not Live in Vain.”

We had excellent remarks from PDG Deb and an inspirational keynote address from acclaimed journalist, Molly Grantham who shared her personal story and why it’s important to “bet on yourself”. Molly made a compelling case for personal leadership with her remarks and her four-year old son, who heard his Mom on stage for the first time, was an absolute joy to be around!

The evening was packed with surprises, including these:

1. PDG Tom Smith, being recognized for his outstanding work in Polio awareness with a Regional Award for a Polio-Free World from Rotary International. Surprise factor? We invited Tom on stage to give a report on the Council on Legislation, and he had no idea he was receiving the award!
2. Christine Cipriano, receiving her first Paul Harris Award from DGN Jerry Coughter. Surprise factor? Christine had no idea Jerry had arranged this!
3. PDG Lois Crumpler, our first female District Governor in District 7680, being recognized for that achievement by having the award for best large club, named in her honor. Surprise factor? Lois was invited to attend the event by Wadesboro President Ashley Scarborough and her husband, Logan. They drove her there and she had no idea she was going to be honored!
4. A wonderful surprise for me, courtesy of District 7680 clubs, which involved sponsorship of a companion dog for someone in need in the future. I got to meet the four-month old Labrador Retriever named “Magic” and what a magical moment that was! Surprise factor? I simply had no idea but dogs, of course, are very near to both Jenny and me!

We then recognized the clubs that excelled in each of the four priority areas of the Action Plan. The best small club overall was recognized with the Mark Markanda Trophy, traditionally used by the District to recognize the Best Club in the past year. The best overall large club was recognized with the provision of the newly-instituted award named in honor of Lois Crumpler.

These are the clubs that were recognized:

We also recognized two Assistant Governors during the ceremony and the three essential areas for every club and our District – Membership, Foundation, and PI/PR:

We ended this night of celebration and fun with a set of songs from Melinda that were simply outstanding!

On Saturday morning, we had an excellent breakfast buffet and heard from the dynamic Nicole Greer in a session called, “Morning Magic”. Nicole spoke about leadership and Rotary, a subject she has some experience in as a former Rotarian.

We had a little bit of competitive fun before heading back into the four priority sessions, repeated from the previous day to give attendees the opportunity to attend at least two of the four sessions. These were followed up by different speed sessions and then we heard from our lunch keynote, PDG Mike Kelly from Cincinnati. PDG Mike is a published author and spoke about leadership within the context of our personal responsibility and Rotary.

We had an especially poignant Memorial Service, led by DGE Donna Moffett. Donna guided us through a dignified reading of the name of each Rotarian we lost last year, and asked those of who were connected to one of those Rotarians, to stand and acknowledge their service. Everyone participated in a Moment of Silence for these Rotarians, all of them loved, all of them missed.

Alexander, Karen (KAREN )                                              Salisbury

Anderson, Vernon T. Jr. (VERNON)                                 Charlotte

Brady, Mark (MARK)                                                         Mooresville-Lake Norman

Bryant, Hugh Frederick (HUGH)                                       Gastonia

Cobb, John E. Sr. (JOHN)                                                 Charlotte Providence

Culbertson, Robert D. (BOB)                                             Charlotte

Deas, David (DAVID)                                                         Gastonia East

Duke, James Edward (JIM)                                              North Mecklenburg County

Dutton, Thomas C (TOM)                                                 North Mecklenburg County

Futterer, William F III (BILL)                                             Rockingham

Giduz, William R. (BILL)                                                    North Mecklenburg County

Iossi, Milton L. (MILTON)                                                 Salisbury

Keenan, William E. (BILL)                                                 Charlotte Providence

Kendrick, Jennifer Ann (JENNY)                                      Charlotte Dilworth South End

Laughlin, John D. (JOHN)                                                Salisbury

Moore, Laurence Dale (LARRY)                                        Shelby

Patton, Altheria S. (ALTHERIA)                                        Wadesboro

Pendleton, Andrew L. (ANDREW)                                     Statesville

Plyler, Leroy (LEROY)                                                        Statesville

Presson, Johnny E. (JOHNNY)                                         Shelby

Shuford, William B. (BILL)                                                Gastonia

Smith, Barbara (BARB)                                                     Huntersville Happy Hour

Smith, Bobby G. (BOBBY)                                                 Shelby

Stengel, John (JOHN)                                                                      Huntersville Happy Hour

We then recognized our Distinguished Rotarians:

Rotary Club of Albemarle              Louisa Jane Hartsell

Rotary Club of Alleghany County Interact     June Mangano

Rotary Club of Alleghany County         Brenda Priest

Rotary Club of Ashe County          Otto Fuentes

Rotary Club of Ballantyne            Rose Jackson

Rotary Club of Belmont             Ted Hall

Rotary Club of Boiling Springs Area       Shannon Hovis

Rotary Club of Cabarrus County        Martin Ericson

Rotary Club of Charlotte            Stuart Hair

Rotary Club of Charlotte            Joe Morris

Rotary Club of Charlotte            Rex Reynolds

Rotary Club of Charlotte International     Ann Evans

Rotary Club of Charlotte North          James Young

Rotary Club of Charlotte Providence      Ron Wimberly

Rotary Club of Charlotte South         Dana Goldfarb

Rotary Club of Charlotte South Park      Kevin Caldwell

Rotary Club of Cherryville            Jyma Atwell

Rotary Club of China Grove           Jim Morton

Rotary Club of Concord            Emily Burkhart

Rotary Club of Concord-Afton Sunset       Justin Moore

Rotary Club of Charlotte Dilworth South End   Eric Law

Rotary Club of Davidson            Jamie Justice

Rotary Club of Gastonia            Laurel Morris

Rotary Club of Gastonia East          Pam Aycock

Rotary Club of Gastonia-Evening        Aileen Fridley

Rotary Club of Greater Statesville         Todd Harkins

Rotary Club of Harrisburg                                 Tim Thornton

Rotary Club of Huntersville Happy Hour     Bob Wilson

Rotary Club of Kings Mountain         Hazel Thrift-Morrow

Rotary Club of Lake Norman/Huntersville     Preston Hagman

Rotary Club of Marshville            Bobby Lee

Rotary Club of Matthews            Joe Murtagh

Rotary Club of Mecklenburg County-South    Greg Snoor

Rotary Club of Monroe             Karyl Jones

Rotary Club of Monroe-Union Breakfast              Bruce Leckey

Rotary Club of Mooresville                                Edward “Eddie” Karriker

Rotary Club of Mooresville-Lake Norman             Ann Nivens

Rotary Club of Mount Holly                               Allan Michael

Rotary Club of North Mecklenburg County          Richard Pappas

Rotary Club of Rockingham                                Kristi R. King

Rotary Club of Rowan County                            Paul Lucha

Rotary Club of Salisbury                                    Dianne Scott

Rotary Club of Shelby                                       Margie Spangler Christopher

Rotary Club of Shelby Breakfast                          Ruth Huffstetler

Rotary Club of Statesville                                  Ray Englebert, Jr.

Rotary Club of Statesville/Fourth Creek               Richard Armstrong, Jr.

Rotary Club of Taylorsville                                 Dianne Little

Rotary Club of Top of the Lake-Mooresville          Edward Jackson

Rotary Club of Troutman                                  Nina Priore

Rotary Club of Union West (Indian Trail)             Betty Prudden

Rotary Club of Wadesboro                                Jason Kiker

Rotary Club of Waxhaw-Weddington                  Kerry Guley

Rotary Club of West Stanly                                Steve Sycuro

After lunch, we participated in a service project, preparing notes of encouragement for clients of the Bounty and Soul Food Pantry in District 7670. As many of you know, we were introduced to Bounty and Soul by AG Cindy Fink who identified it as an opportunity for our District to support through Zone Disaster funds and hands-on service.

We wrapped up our Conference by having an insightful panel discussion, which included PDG Deb Cheney, PDG Mike Kelly and PDG Chris Jones. The subject involved turning adversity into opportunity and the panelists did an exceptional job, providing thoughtful responses to questions.

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR MANY MORE PICS FROM OUR

2025 DISTRICT CONFERENCE IN STATESVILLE!!

Thank you to the following presenters and entertainment!

Mike Kelly
Kelly Financial Planning, LLC
Right Path Enterprises, LLC
Rotary International

Mike is an executive coach, consultant, and financial planner dedicated to leadership and personal growth.  A longtime Rotarian, author, and community leader, he helps individuals and organizations thrive professionally and financially.