December 20, 2024 • 30 mins
What if you could connect more deeply with your community and make a lasting impact on global issues? Join me, Brian Triger, as I chat with Dr. Jack Werner about the inspiring work and ambitious goals of Rotary District 5750 in Oklahoma. We dig into Jack's journey through Rotary, the district's vibrant community projects like the Santa Claus Project, and their ongoing scholarship programs. We also explore the significance of personal visits to clubs, a strategy Jack uses as District Governor to make members feel connected and appreciated. Plus, we celebrate Rotary’s incredible global achievement in eradicating polio, underscoring their dedication to impactful humanitarian efforts.
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Episode Transcript
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Brian Triger (00:39):
You, welcome to the Rotary Spark Podcast.
I'm your host, brian Triger,and with me today is Dr Jack
Warner.
How are you doing today, jack?
Oh, I'm fabulous I appreciateyou sitting up.
Dr. Jack Werner (01:00):
I'll mention to everyone, Brian Triger is the
one responsible for the firstRotary broadcast in 5750, and I
appreciate you very much.
Brian Triger (01:10):
It's been my pleasure, Jack.
So let's first jump into clubinvolvement and a little bit
about your history in Rotary.
You're in the South OklahomaCity Club, is that correct,
Brian?
Dr. Jack Werner (01:23):
I've been in South Oklahoma City Rotary for
over 40 years.
I joined because I worked forCongress and after I got back
from Vietnam I went back toschool and got a degree in
political science and startedcampaigning for Mickey Edwards
who ran against John Jarman forCongress.
He lost the first time and thenJohn Jarman retired and Mickey
(01:44):
won that race and I worked hardin his campaigns both times.
Officed out of Al Snipes, aSouthside leader in the
Republican Party, and Mickey'soffice, he provided an office
for him and that's how I gotinto Rotary.
He's the reason I'm bringingthat back.
Al was involved for 50 years inRotary and he invited me and I
(02:06):
joined 47 years ago now.
So I've been active ever since.
And I thank you for coming up toNorth Park Mall because I
wanted to kind of highlightNorthwest Rotary that meets at
Quail Springs Golf and CountryClub on Tuesdays at noon.
They've sponsored it for aboutthe same number of years well
over 40 years the Santa ClausProject here at North Park Mall,
(02:30):
and last year Northwest Rotaryraised $60,000, which they gave
back to local non-profits.
That's just one of the types ofthings that Rotary does.
I got to speak very briefly atWest Rotary Wednesday of this
week, when West Rotary gave 29$5,000 college scholarships to
(02:54):
students from all over the stateof Oklahoma.
That's another type of thingthat the Rotary clubs do.
Brian Triger (03:01):
That's incredible and I love the setup.
I'm definitely going to takesome pictures and have some up
on the district website.
I will also make sure that anyand all of the information
available for this fundraiser isavailable online in any type of
social media platform.
(03:22):
I just love seeing everyone gettogether during the holidays,
especially members within ourRotary District, so it's just
really cool to watch.
So let's see, as DistrictGovernor, what are some of the
primary goals for District 5750this year and how do you and the
(03:44):
executive team plan oncontinuing to inspire clubs to
achieve them?
Dr. Jack Werner (03:50):
Kind of a complex question and I'll tell
you the answers.
First of all, every civicorganization, church, social
involvement really kind of felloff the edge of the earth during
COVID and everybody has beenstruggling to come back.
Rotary is doing pretty well butwe, like everyone else, lost
(04:11):
memberships during COVID inattendance.
Rotary, by the way, is theoldest and largest civic
organization in the world.
We've got about a million and ahalf members worldwide.
Rotary is in more countriesthan the United Nations.
I'll mention that Our district5750, roughly encompasses I-40,
(04:33):
I-35, the northwest quadrant ofOklahoma.
We have 32 active clubs inthere.
Number one, the first way thatwe hope to engage more people
from the community and theRotary Clubs is just to be
attended, meaning go to theirclubs.
Mack Patel is the districtgovernor-elect I'm the current
(04:57):
district governor.
Mike Truitt, an attorney out ofPonca City, is the district
governor nominee, meaning he'llfollow Mack, and Mack Patel is
from the Midwest City Club.
As you know, I mention thosenames because we have an
obligation, as well as theassistant district governors,
(05:18):
and we have about a dozen ofthose fine people, to visit the
clubs repeatedly.
I am visiting every club inthat Northwest quadrant once a
quarter and have been since I'vebeen nominee, with the simple
belief not that I'm magical orMac is or anybody else, but you
can imagine if you're out therein Alba or Woodward or Gage,
oklahoma, you know if thedistrict governor comes by once
(05:40):
a year and that's the only timeyou see him, you don't feel real
involved, you don't feel realimportant, and so we're between
myself, and then you put Mac inand you put Mike Truitt in and
you put the assistant districtgovernors.
They're getting a visit,usually a couple of times a
month, and suddenly people arefeeling like gosh.
(06:00):
Maybe the district really doescare about us, maybe we really
are involved with Rotary.
So that's the number one thingthat we're doing Projects.
Rotary does over 1,000 projectsa year all over the world, from
water wells to microloans sothat women can start their own
small business and supportthemselves and their family.
(06:22):
We all have our own passionsand beliefs.
I guess the project because I'vebeen in so long that's near and
dear to me and partiallybecause I'm an old guy and I've
seen friends that had polio.
Fortunately, many of youyounger people don't know
anybody that had polio when Igrew up.
One of my closest friends wasLester Howard Howard Brothers
(06:43):
Flores Lester is deceased now.
He was a healthy 10-year-oldrunning around.
He got polio and spent the restof his life in a wheelchair and
I can name off Eddie Correathat I went to high school with
that had polio Dr Gary Rankin inOklahoma City Community College
.
Polio was anywhere from justmaybe crippling you somewhat to
(07:04):
permanently putting you in awheelchair to I actually saw
young people as a youngster iniron lungs and spent the
remainder of their life that way.
Polio is a debilitating disease.
When Rotary tackled that in1984, we actually started doing
research in 82 in thePhilippines to see if we felt we
could do any good as Rotary andthey committed to wiping out
(07:30):
polio in the world.
In 1984.
There were over 1,000 cases aday of polio, over 400,000 cases
a year at that time.
Last year, in 2023, there wereeight cases in the world.
It's not considered beatenuntil it's at zero for three
(07:51):
years, but we're working on itand for the first time and you
can imagine, those two countriesare Pakistan and Afghanistan.
It's kind of been the attitudeof gosh.
We think you're trying tosterilize us or something else.
Pakistan for the first timecame out this past year or 2024
and said we see what you'redoing.
We're going to help you.
So we feel like we've got areal chance.
(08:13):
We've moved from 400,000 in ayear to eight cases in 2023.
Yes, we think we can wipe outand eradicate polio.
We've raised over a billiondollars toward that goal.
We've sent people all over theworld to vaccinate children or
to give them the oral vaccine.
Bill Gates has stepped up withthe Gates Foundation to match
(08:36):
money and what a tremendousthing.
It's just one internationalthing.
Every club in the world tacklestheir own special projects.
One international thing Everyclub in the world tackles their
own special projects.
My personal passion and love isRyla Rotary Youth Leadership
Academy.
It's up here between Edmond andGuthrie.
(08:56):
There's a lot of magical thingsabout the camp.
There's not a student that goes.
These are usually juniors inhigh school.
We solicit from all over ourdistrict.
These are usually juniors inhigh school.
We solicit from all over ourdistrict and they go in for a
camp, usually about four daysand four nights.
And the trailblazers who arepast Ryla campers they come in
for an extra day and we havetremendous well-planned
(09:19):
involvement projects.
We solicit the young peoplethat aren't necessarily the
student council president andthe head of the football team.
They're people that are good,solid people, but they may be
what you and I might callwallflowers and nobody not a
Rotarian, not a student everleaves there without feeling
totally enthusiastic and changed.
(09:41):
It's a wonderful Rotary YouthLeadership Camp and I guess one
of the things that appeals to memost that entire camp is built
to be fully accessible forhandicapped students.
Obviously, most of the kidsalmost all that go up there are
healthy, bright, young people,but every person at that camp
(10:04):
that's full-time up there on thestaff is fully certified to
work with handicapped children.
Rotary has participated inbuilding the zip line and the
tower to the zip line and thenormal healthy kids can climb up
that perpendicular side.
But they are built and theywill strap on the handicapped
(10:26):
children and take them up thediagonal side there and take
them up to the top and hook themin the zip line.
It's pretty magical to hearthose kids giggle all the way
down the zip line and then whenthey finish, what they're saying
is more, more, more.
And those are just some of thethings that Rotary does locally.
Each club has differentpassions, different projects,
(10:49):
different fundraisers, and allthose fundraisers are to give
back to the community, whetherit's for the women's shelter or
the YMCA or the Boy Scouts orhandicapped children, every club
selects their own.
We're sitting here today inNorth Park Mall with their
Christmas project that's gone onfor over 40 years.
Last year they raised $60,000that they gave back to local
(11:12):
charities in the Oklahoma Citycommunity.
So Rotary is about service andbelieving in our country and our
community and saying, gosh,we'd like to participate and
maybe just leave it a littlebetter, maybe help it be a
little better along the way.
Brian, I bought a couple ofbooks here that on the podcast
they won't see.
But you know one of the things?
(11:32):
Robert Putnam is a well-knownerudite professor.
He's written many of you haveheard of Bowling Alone, making
democracy work in civictraditions in modern Italy,
making democracy work in civictraditions in modern Italy.
Perhaps you've even seen on PBShis documentary Join or Die.
(11:53):
He's talking very specificallyin these books.
Over a thousand years the realimpact on freedom, on democracy,
on advancement, has been civicinvolvement and I just I believe
deeply that most of us want tocontribute and want to leave the
place.
We just find, gosh, it's sohard, there's so much time,
(12:16):
there's so many demands andRotary helps you focus on that
and do it much more easily.
And it's a lot more fun whenyou're doing it with other
people, with other leaders inthe community and undeniably I
will say, as a member of Rotaryfor well over 40 years it helps
you in your career and yourbusiness because you're
associating regularly withcommunity leaders and people
(12:37):
that care.
Brian Triger (12:39):
All of that resonates.
I am still in my second year atthe moment, but I can
definitely connect with most, ifnot all, of those ideas.
And it kind of leads to my nextquestion.
Membership is a commonchallenge for many Rotary clubs.
What innovative strategies areyou starting to see within some
(13:00):
of the clubs and or committeesthat you've visited with?
You know after over the lastseveral years?
Dr. Jack Werner (13:10):
I'll mention three specific things, if I may
Sure.
Number one I'm a deep believer,whether it's with our children
or with Rotary simply attention.
Whether I'm the brightest guyin the world or I'm kind of the
slowest guy in the world, if Iam there regularly and give you
attention, it's valued, it'simportant.
And it's the same thing withRotary clubs.
(13:30):
I believe that our districtleadership must be there and
give attention to those clubs.
That means upcoming districtgovernors, it means assistant
district governors that werethere over and over to say, hey,
we're here, here's what's goingon with Rotary International.
How can we help you?
Maybe they say, gosh, I don'tneed any help, we're doing great
(13:51):
.
But they certainly everybodyappreciates attention and focus.
So I think that's number one inhelping and that segues very
well into what I believepersonally about how to develop
new members and leadership inyour own club.
It's back to attention.
I learned many years ago and Ibrought many people into Rotary
because I'm passionate about it.
(14:12):
I think it's a fabulousorganization.
It I think it's a fabulousorganization.
But I didn't realize until thelast five or ten years that many
of those people Brian, you andI were talking earlier about
attrition.
You know people are in Rotaryfor two, three, four years and
life happens, people move away,people get divorced, people die,
different things like that.
But many of those people justkind of dropped out of Rotary.
(14:37):
And what I've found in talkingabout attention when I bring a
new member in I take them and Iget asked for a commitment to go
visit three different clubswith me.
You've been to visit differentclubs with me although you're a
member of Midwest City Rotaryand I think that kind of opens
the eyes.
It's one thing for me to tellyou, oh, rotary's all over the
(14:57):
world and big, but it's kind ofa nice, it's kind of an epiphany
for a light bulb to go off whenyou visit downtown Rotary or
Brooktown Rotary or the 7 amClub or the 5.30 pm Club.
Everybody does different things, has different feelings,
different ambiance, differentprojects, and it really is an
(15:19):
eye-opener just to casually goaround to some different clubs
and see what they're doing andwhat they're excited, how they
present themselves.
So I found that attention to anew member makes a huge
difference.
Because guess what, if I pickyou up and we go to Bricktown
Rotary, what do we talk about inthe car?
We talk about Rotary and all ofthat gives a greater
(15:41):
involvement, both of me with youand you with Rotary.
So that's the second thing.
You know the clubs locally.
As you know, one of the thingsI enjoy and it's a small thing
that I decided many years agothat I could do to contribute
daily to my community I pick uptrash every day.
We have Rotarians that meet at8 am on Sunday morning down by
(16:04):
the river and we pick up trashevery day.
Most of them are from my clubsouth of Oklahoma City, but we
have clubs, as you, you've metus down there and other people
have and we go to breakfastbreakfast and we enjoy that.
So those are just some of thethings.
I think all those things helppeople feel more involved and
feel like we're contributing andthat's an important feeling.
Brian Triger (16:28):
Thank you for sharing that.
Yeah, when you were talkingabout attention, it made me
think about you.
Know you, mac Chili and avariety of other individuals in
a small way was able to emulatea similar level of attention and
(17:01):
respect, and that wasn'tnecessarily a social skill that
I had before I came into Rotaryand it took a while to kind of
become aware of that evenoccurring.
So I, you know, I definitelyappreciate what Rotary has given
to me and yeah, no, it's.
(17:21):
I can always learn from yourwords and everyone else's words
in Rotary, so I definitelyappreciate that.
Can I grab Janine here?
Dr. Jack Werner (17:30):
for a moment for a podcast she's taking her
picture here.
Come on Janine, Janine's pastdistrict governor.
I saw you live and she's uphere volunteering for the
Christmas project.
Brian Triger (17:40):
Yeah, yeah, Hi Janine, Hi Jack, Hi Brian.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
Good to see you both here.
Is it just voice only or videotoo?
Brian Triger (17:48):
It's just voice right now.
Perfect, yep, I'm speaking intoyour microphone.
That's why.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
I'm so close to you, I got that.
Dr. Jack Werner (17:54):
Yeah, I'm in your bubble and she's dressed up
as an elf.
I might mention Now is that youalways dress this way, or is it
just for the Christmas?
Speaker 3 (18:04):
Well, you know, I have a lot of seasonal attire so
, depending on the season, Iusually have something that fits
.
Dr. Jack Werner (18:11):
We were just talking and this is such a
tremendous amount of work.
We were talking about thisChristmas project and that the
club raised $60,000 last year.
They man this thing from noonto six and longer on weekends,
all day long.
It takes about four Rotariansfrom Thanksgiving on all the way
(18:32):
through Christmas Eve to takepictures.
It's a lot of work and they'vedone it for well over 40 years
now.
Yep 100% charitable afterexpenses, yeah everything goes
to local charities and it'sreally a family tradition.
Oh yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
People come year after year.
We've been coming for 20 years.
I think.
The Santa Booth has been inservice for over 40 years, maybe
44, if I'm remembering exactly.
Brian Triger (18:57):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (18:57):
So Rotary is really making a big impact.
Here in Northwest Oklahoma CityEverybody knows about Santa.
Dr. Jack Werner (19:05):
Oh yeah, and I've been up here and you have
too.
We've seen people come in andsay, oh, not only my mom and dad
came here, my grandma andgrandpa came here to get
pictures, so it's a valuablething.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
Thank you so much.
Well, thanks for letting me popin.
Yeah, thank you, merryChristmas Thanks for coming.
Dr. Jack Werner (19:21):
Merry Christmas , janine, if I may Brian before
Janine popped in and I'm so gladshe stopped by.
But I wanted to mention and Iappreciate the humbleness is
valued, but you were a littlehumble there on your involvement
and gave us credit I want tomention.
You know, look at what you did.
I mean you brought Nancy Kewasfrom Waxahachie and got us to go
(19:43):
down while she joined Rotary asa new member just a couple of
months ago, and that's you and Iboth know.
I think anybody could see gosh.
When you get that type ofattention, does it make you feel
more a part of Rotary?
You know, here three of usdrove a few hundred miles for
her induction.
Of course that was important toher and anybody can see why.
(20:06):
And I appreciate you bringingher to our attention and
friendship and into part ofRotary.
Brian Triger (20:12):
Yeah, and I appreciate the reception and the
support.
It's been fun to see how, froma distance, the relationship
with Nancy and the WaxahachieClub, how that's playing out and
how supportive they're beingand how in such a unique way
she's able to contribute, andjust seeing another community
(20:35):
about three or four hours unfoldkind of under a rotary lens,
and how it's intertwined into amuch bigger system.
Dr. Jack Werner (20:54):
And I will mention wherever you are.
If you're in New York orCalifornia or Texas and
listening to this, if you say,gosh, maybe that's something I
ought to check into.
I mean, you can call me, youcan call Brian.
We'll find the right local clubfor you to hook up with and
somebody to give you a personalinvitation.
My name is Jack Warner and myphone number, my personal cell,
is 405-406-1790.
And, Brian, if you'll be kindenough to tell them how to, by
(21:16):
email or phone to contact you orthe podcast.
Brian Triger (21:19):
Oh, of course.
Yeah, my direct line is978-290-8200.
You can go to rotary5750.org.
Any contact within our districtis going to be available
through there.
Of course, if you need to getmore access to zone or
international level information,you can always visit rotaryorg.
(21:43):
One of the cool things aboutRotary is that, whether you
reach out to us or anyone inbetween an upcoming or a
prospective member, all the wayup to the president, most of the
time, if not all of the time,you are going to be pointed in
the right direction to get theinformation that you need.
Dr. Jack Werner (22:01):
Yeah, and if there's any problem, if you're
like me and kind of a Luddite ontechnology or you're just busy
or something fails, pick up thephone, call me.
I'll commit to getting ananswer for you and having the
right person contact with you.
My number again is 405-406-1790.
And I'm Jack Warner.
(22:22):
I own A to Z Inspections out ofOklahoma City and I am the
current district governor forRotary and it's a valuable,
wonderful organization, over 100years old, largest and oldest
civic club in the world.
Brian Triger (22:37):
So, jack, you've actually wrapped up most of the
other questions because you'vegiven really good quality
information.
Let's just jump into at leastone last formal question.
So, as you've said before, oryou've implied before, rotary's
future relies heavily on youthprograms like Rotaract, interact
(23:02):
, rila and WINGS and a varietyof other programs that we have
going on.
What steps is the districtcontinuing to take to strengthen
these programs and fosterfuture Rotarians?
Dr. Jack Werner (23:18):
Ryan, I'm so glad you mentioned because I
really didn't mention those verywell and for the layman perhaps
out there that is not thatfamiliar with Rotary, we all use
these acronyms.
Very simply, let me say whenyou were in high school if you
had a foreign exchange student,it was probably sponsored by
Rotary.
Foreign exchange student, itwas probably sponsored by Rotary
.
When we talk about Interact andRotaract, those are our youth
(23:48):
organizations in high school andthen in college.
I know in Midwest City HighSchool I think we've got over 50
members out there now andactive in that organization.
So all types of things.
Wings, by the way, is where wenot only sponsor foreign
exchange students in high schoolto go for a year to another
country and that country sendssomeone here.
We also have that youngprofessionals that we send over
(24:10):
for a few weeks to anothercountry and exchange them just
to learn different business anddifferent contacts in those
countries.
So Rotary does so many magicalthings that are international
all over the world.
What are we doing to foster it?
Number one Roy Woods, alfonsoNeves, just finished as the
Rotary District Trainer.
(24:30):
We have training at least twicea year on leadership and how to
involve and the things that areavailable, all the different
grants that are available inRotary.
Roy Woods is just concluding aninternational Rotary leadership
program and has agreed to beour district trainer for the
next three years.
(24:52):
And I mention that because, forthe first time, anybody in our
Rotary district we offered andpaid for their training.
This was an online training forRotary.
I think it was $150.
And as long as you completed it, the district would fully pay
(25:13):
for it.
So that's one thing that hadn'tbeen done before fully pay for
it.
So that's one thing that hadn'tbeen done before.
The other thing is we are payingfor any club officer, president
, treasurer, sergeant at arms,anybody in that line of
ascension in a clubpresident-elect.
We will pay for them to go topets or president-elect training
(25:35):
.
That's right now in Fort smith,coming up in march, and we'll
pay their whole way.
We'll not only pay for theenrollment, for the hotel and
all those things.
That's something that's notbeen offered, uh, and we don't
want somebody.
Perhaps you and I, brian, canafford it on our own, but, uh,
there may be some people.
You're married, you got kids,you got these things.
(25:55):
It's a struggle to commit, it'senough just to commit to time.
So we're going to pay their wayto go to that training.
Those are some different thingsthat we're doing, and every one
of us from myself to Mac Patel,to Michael Truitt, to Roy Woods
, and then we've got about adozen assistant district
governors and each one just hasthe responsibility of about
(26:17):
three clubs.
If you've got a problem, you'vegot a concern, you've got a
question, you can pick up thephone and call any of us.
We'll get you answers and orwe'll be there for you.
Brian Triger (26:27):
And that's great and for anyone in our district.
As you navigate the website,you'll be able to see different
ways to clearly communicate.
But if you, for instance, ifyou wanted to reach out to any
of the district governors thatwe have, or assistant governors
we have an assistant governorsection, the link for their
phone number or email all youhave to do is click on those
(26:49):
links and it'll either call orcreate an email prompt.
Dr. Jack Werner (26:54):
What's the website?
Brian Triger (26:55):
So it's rotary5750.org.
If you type in that on anybrowser and go to that website,
you will find all of theinformation that you need.
And then also, if you GoogleRotary 5750, it will.
As long as I and anyone elseworking on it are doing their
(27:16):
jobs, it will come up as thefirst link.
And also, if you need anyadditional resources, please
don't hesitate.
You can reach out to medirectly.
My name is Brian Traeger.
My contact information wasmentioned before, but my direct
no, mention it again please,it's 978-290-8200.
(27:37):
You can reach me directly, uhvia email, uh, info at
itsparkorg.
Uh, and yeah, I look forward tohelping anyone out that I can,
and uh, yeah, I I want to thankyou for coming out, jack, and uh
, I also uh want to uh to thankthe shops at North Park for
(28:04):
supporting the Santa event.
Dr. Jack Werner (28:09):
North Park Mall has just been such a colleague
and friend of Rotary for over 40years and hosting us and
allowing us to do that fabulousSanta Claus Christmas photo
project for all those yearsReally strong supporters.
I'll mention also, if you lookat the Midwest City Beacon, the
(28:30):
Rotary Spark podcast and BrianTrager on the front page of the
November 27th issue, if you wantto look that up.
And I so appreciate, brian,your initiative in starting this
.
You're the sole responsibleperson for the Rotary podcast.
What a neat deal, thank you.
Brian Triger (28:46):
Yeah, my pleasure.
It's been a lot of fun and Ilook forward to continuing the
adventure.
And I also want to take theopportunity to thank Hacienda
Tacos for providing good foodwhen we're in the mood for some
Mexican food.
Even though we're doing thismobile at the shops at North
Park, I still want to give ashout out to the Almonte Library
(29:08):
for giving us an opportunity torecord any time that we book a
recording session at no cost tous.
Book a recording session at nocost to us.
I want to thank the boardmembers over at ITSpark, as well
(29:28):
as everyone in District 5750and Rotary International as a
whole.
I want to thank everyone forlistening and participating in
any capacity.
And Merry Christmas everyone.
Happy holidays as well.
I love the lights and presentsof Christmas, so I'm going to
spotlight Merry Christmaswithout feeling guilty about it,
but I hope everyone's filledwith holiday cheer and until
next time.
Guitar solo you.
You, welcome to the Rotary Spark Podcast.
I'm your host, brian Triger,and with me today is Dr Jack
Warner.
How are you doing today, jack?
Oh, I'm fabulous I appreciateyou sitting up.
Dr. Jack Werner (01:00):
I'll mention to everyone, Brian Triger is the
one responsible for the firstRotary broadcast in 5750, and I
appreciate you very much.
Brian Triger (01:10):
It's been my pleasure, Jack.
So let's first jump into clubinvolvement and a little bit
about your history in Rotary.
You're in the South OklahomaCity Club, is that correct,
Brian?
Dr. Jack Werner (01:23):
I've been in South Oklahoma City Rotary for
over 40 years.
I joined because I worked forCongress and after I got back
from Vietnam I went back toschool and got a degree in
political science and startedcampaigning for Mickey Edwards
who ran against John Jarman forCongress.
He lost the first time and thenJohn Jarman retired and Mickey
(01:44):
won that race and I worked hardin his campaigns both times.
Officed out of Al Snipes, aSouthside leader in the
Republican Party, and Mickey'soffice, he provided an office
for him and that's how I gotinto Rotary.
He's the reason I'm bringingthat back.
Al was involved for 50 years inRotary and he invited me and I
(02:06):
joined 47 years ago now.
So I've been active ever since.
And I thank you for coming up toNorth Park Mall because I
wanted to kind of highlightNorthwest Rotary that meets at
Quail Springs Golf and CountryClub on Tuesdays at noon.
They've sponsored it for aboutthe same number of years well
over 40 years the Santa ClausProject here at North Park Mall,
(02:30):
and last year Northwest Rotaryraised $60,000, which they gave
back to local non-profits.
That's just one of the types ofthings that Rotary does.
I got to speak very briefly atWest Rotary Wednesday of this
week, when West Rotary gave 29$5,000 college scholarships to
(02:54):
students from all over the stateof Oklahoma.
That's another type of thingthat the Rotary clubs do.
Brian Triger (03:01):
That's incredible and I love the setup.
I'm definitely going to takesome pictures and have some up
on the district website.
I will also make sure that anyand all of the information
available for this fundraiser isavailable online in any type of
social media platform.
(03:22):
I just love seeing everyone gettogether during the holidays,
especially members within ourRotary District, so it's just
really cool to watch.
So let's see, as DistrictGovernor, what are some of the
primary goals for District 5750this year and how do you and the
(03:44):
executive team plan oncontinuing to inspire clubs to
achieve them?
Dr. Jack Werner (03:50):
Kind of a complex question and I'll tell
you the answers.
First of all, every civicorganization, church, social
involvement really kind of felloff the edge of the earth during
COVID and everybody has beenstruggling to come back.
Rotary is doing pretty well butwe, like everyone else, lost
(04:11):
memberships during COVID inattendance.
Rotary, by the way, is theoldest and largest civic
organization in the world.
We've got about a million and ahalf members worldwide.
Rotary is in more countriesthan the United Nations.
I'll mention that Our district5750, roughly encompasses I-40,
(04:33):
I-35, the northwest quadrant ofOklahoma.
We have 32 active clubs inthere.
Number one, the first way thatwe hope to engage more people
from the community and theRotary Clubs is just to be
attended, meaning go to theirclubs.
Mack Patel is the districtgovernor-elect I'm the current
(04:57):
district governor.
Mike Truitt, an attorney out ofPonca City, is the district
governor nominee, meaning he'llfollow Mack, and Mack Patel is
from the Midwest City Club.
As you know, I mention thosenames because we have an
obligation, as well as theassistant district governors,
(05:18):
and we have about a dozen ofthose fine people, to visit the
clubs repeatedly.
I am visiting every club inthat Northwest quadrant once a
quarter and have been since I'vebeen nominee, with the simple
belief not that I'm magical orMac is or anybody else, but you
can imagine if you're out therein Alba or Woodward or Gage,
oklahoma, you know if thedistrict governor comes by once
(05:40):
a year and that's the only timeyou see him, you don't feel real
involved, you don't feel realimportant, and so we're between
myself, and then you put Mac inand you put Mike Truitt in and
you put the assistant districtgovernors.
They're getting a visit,usually a couple of times a
month, and suddenly people arefeeling like gosh.
(06:00):
Maybe the district really doescare about us, maybe we really
are involved with Rotary.
So that's the number one thingthat we're doing Projects.
Rotary does over 1,000 projectsa year all over the world, from
water wells to microloans sothat women can start their own
small business and supportthemselves and their family.
(06:22):
We all have our own passionsand beliefs.
I guess the project because I'vebeen in so long that's near and
dear to me and partiallybecause I'm an old guy and I've
seen friends that had polio.
Fortunately, many of youyounger people don't know
anybody that had polio when Igrew up.
One of my closest friends wasLester Howard Howard Brothers
(06:43):
Flores Lester is deceased now.
He was a healthy 10-year-oldrunning around.
He got polio and spent the restof his life in a wheelchair and
I can name off Eddie Correathat I went to high school with
that had polio Dr Gary Rankin inOklahoma City Community College
.
Polio was anywhere from justmaybe crippling you somewhat to
(07:04):
permanently putting you in awheelchair to I actually saw
young people as a youngster iniron lungs and spent the
remainder of their life that way.
Polio is a debilitating disease.
When Rotary tackled that in1984, we actually started doing
research in 82 in thePhilippines to see if we felt we
could do any good as Rotary andthey committed to wiping out
(07:30):
polio in the world.
In 1984.
There were over 1,000 cases aday of polio, over 400,000 cases
a year at that time.
Last year, in 2023, there wereeight cases in the world.
It's not considered beatenuntil it's at zero for three
(07:51):
years, but we're working on itand for the first time and you
can imagine, those two countriesare Pakistan and Afghanistan.
It's kind of been the attitudeof gosh.
We think you're trying tosterilize us or something else.
Pakistan for the first timecame out this past year or 2024
and said we see what you'redoing.
We're going to help you.
So we feel like we've got areal chance.
(08:13):
We've moved from 400,000 in ayear to eight cases in 2023.
Yes, we think we can wipe outand eradicate polio.
We've raised over a billiondollars toward that goal.
We've sent people all over theworld to vaccinate children or
to give them the oral vaccine.
Bill Gates has stepped up withthe Gates Foundation to match
(08:36):
money and what a tremendousthing.
It's just one internationalthing.
Every club in the world tacklestheir own special projects.
One international thing Everyclub in the world tackles their
own special projects.
My personal passion and love isRyla Rotary Youth Leadership
Academy.
It's up here between Edmond andGuthrie.
(08:56):
There's a lot of magical thingsabout the camp.
There's not a student that goes.
These are usually juniors inhigh school.
We solicit from all over ourdistrict.
These are usually juniors inhigh school.
We solicit from all over ourdistrict and they go in for a
camp, usually about four daysand four nights.
And the trailblazers who arepast Ryla campers they come in
for an extra day and we havetremendous well-planned
(09:19):
involvement projects.
We solicit the young peoplethat aren't necessarily the
student council president andthe head of the football team.
They're people that are good,solid people, but they may be
what you and I might callwallflowers and nobody not a
Rotarian, not a student everleaves there without feeling
totally enthusiastic and changed.
(09:41):
It's a wonderful Rotary YouthLeadership Camp and I guess one
of the things that appeals to memost that entire camp is built
to be fully accessible forhandicapped students.
Obviously, most of the kidsalmost all that go up there are
healthy, bright, young people,but every person at that camp
(10:04):
that's full-time up there on thestaff is fully certified to
work with handicapped children.
Rotary has participated inbuilding the zip line and the
tower to the zip line and thenormal healthy kids can climb up
that perpendicular side.
But they are built and theywill strap on the handicapped
(10:26):
children and take them up thediagonal side there and take
them up to the top and hook themin the zip line.
It's pretty magical to hearthose kids giggle all the way
down the zip line and then whenthey finish, what they're saying
is more, more, more.
And those are just some of thethings that Rotary does locally.
Each club has differentpassions, different projects,
(10:49):
different fundraisers, and allthose fundraisers are to give
back to the community, whetherit's for the women's shelter or
the YMCA or the Boy Scouts orhandicapped children, every club
selects their own.
We're sitting here today inNorth Park Mall with their
Christmas project that's gone onfor over 40 years.
Last year they raised $60,000that they gave back to local
(11:12):
charities in the Oklahoma Citycommunity.
So Rotary is about service andbelieving in our country and our
community and saying, gosh,we'd like to participate and
maybe just leave it a littlebetter, maybe help it be a
little better along the way.
Brian, I bought a couple ofbooks here that on the podcast
they won't see.
But you know one of the things?
(11:32):
Robert Putnam is a well-knownerudite professor.
He's written many of you haveheard of Bowling Alone, making
democracy work in civictraditions in modern Italy,
making democracy work in civictraditions in modern Italy.
Perhaps you've even seen on PBShis documentary Join or Die.
(11:53):
He's talking very specificallyin these books.
Over a thousand years the realimpact on freedom, on democracy,
on advancement, has been civicinvolvement and I just I believe
deeply that most of us want tocontribute and want to leave the
place.
We just find, gosh, it's sohard, there's so much time,
(12:16):
there's so many demands andRotary helps you focus on that
and do it much more easily.
And it's a lot more fun whenyou're doing it with other
people, with other leaders inthe community and undeniably I
will say, as a member of Rotaryfor well over 40 years it helps
you in your career and yourbusiness because you're
associating regularly withcommunity leaders and people
(12:37):
that care.
Brian Triger (12:39):
All of that resonates.
I am still in my second year atthe moment, but I can
definitely connect with most, ifnot all, of those ideas.
And it kind of leads to my nextquestion.
Membership is a commonchallenge for many Rotary clubs.
What innovative strategies areyou starting to see within some
(13:00):
of the clubs and or committeesthat you've visited with?
You know after over the lastseveral years?
Dr. Jack Werner (13:10):
I'll mention three specific things, if I may
Sure.
Number one I'm a deep believer,whether it's with our children
or with Rotary simply attention.
Whether I'm the brightest guyin the world or I'm kind of the
slowest guy in the world, if Iam there regularly and give you
attention, it's valued, it'simportant.
And it's the same thing withRotary clubs.
(13:30):
I believe that our districtleadership must be there and
give attention to those clubs.
That means upcoming districtgovernors, it means assistant
district governors that werethere over and over to say, hey,
we're here, here's what's goingon with Rotary International.
How can we help you?
Maybe they say, gosh, I don'tneed any help, we're doing great
(13:51):
.
But they certainly everybodyappreciates attention and focus.
So I think that's number one inhelping and that segues very
well into what I believepersonally about how to develop
new members and leadership inyour own club.
It's back to attention.
I learned many years ago and Ibrought many people into Rotary
because I'm passionate about it.
(14:12):
I think it's a fabulousorganization.
It I think it's a fabulousorganization.
But I didn't realize until thelast five or ten years that many
of those people Brian, you andI were talking earlier about
attrition.
You know people are in Rotaryfor two, three, four years and
life happens, people move away,people get divorced, people die,
different things like that.
But many of those people justkind of dropped out of Rotary.
(14:37):
And what I've found in talkingabout attention when I bring a
new member in I take them and Iget asked for a commitment to go
visit three different clubswith me.
You've been to visit differentclubs with me although you're a
member of Midwest City Rotaryand I think that kind of opens
the eyes.
It's one thing for me to tellyou, oh, rotary's all over the
(14:57):
world and big, but it's kind ofa nice, it's kind of an epiphany
for a light bulb to go off whenyou visit downtown Rotary or
Brooktown Rotary or the 7 amClub or the 5.30 pm Club.
Everybody does different things, has different feelings,
different ambiance, differentprojects, and it really is an
(15:19):
eye-opener just to casually goaround to some different clubs
and see what they're doing andwhat they're excited, how they
present themselves.
So I found that attention to anew member makes a huge
difference.
Because guess what, if I pickyou up and we go to Bricktown
Rotary, what do we talk about inthe car?
We talk about Rotary and all ofthat gives a greater
(15:41):
involvement, both of me with youand you with Rotary.
So that's the second thing.
You know the clubs locally.
As you know, one of the thingsI enjoy and it's a small thing
that I decided many years agothat I could do to contribute
daily to my community I pick uptrash every day.
We have Rotarians that meet at8 am on Sunday morning down by
(16:04):
the river and we pick up trashevery day.
Most of them are from my clubsouth of Oklahoma City, but we
have clubs, as you, you've metus down there and other people
have and we go to breakfastbreakfast and we enjoy that.
So those are just some of thethings.
I think all those things helppeople feel more involved and
feel like we're contributing andthat's an important feeling.
Brian Triger (16:28):
Thank you for sharing that.
Yeah, when you were talkingabout attention, it made me
think about you.
Know you, mac Chili and avariety of other individuals in
a small way was able to emulatea similar level of attention and
(17:01):
respect, and that wasn'tnecessarily a social skill that
I had before I came into Rotaryand it took a while to kind of
become aware of that evenoccurring.
So I, you know, I definitelyappreciate what Rotary has given
to me and yeah, no, it's.
(17:21):
I can always learn from yourwords and everyone else's words
in Rotary, so I definitelyappreciate that.
Can I grab Janine here?
Dr. Jack Werner (17:30):
for a moment for a podcast she's taking her
picture here.
Come on Janine, Janine's pastdistrict governor.
I saw you live and she's uphere volunteering for the
Christmas project.
Brian Triger (17:40):
Yeah, yeah, Hi Janine, Hi Jack, Hi Brian.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
Good to see you both here.
Is it just voice only or videotoo?
Brian Triger (17:48):
It's just voice right now.
Perfect, yep, I'm speaking intoyour microphone.
That's why.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
I'm so close to you, I got that.
Dr. Jack Werner (17:54):
Yeah, I'm in your bubble and she's dressed up
as an elf.
I might mention Now is that youalways dress this way, or is it
just for the Christmas?
Speaker 3 (18:04):
Well, you know, I have a lot of seasonal attire so
, depending on the season, Iusually have something that fits
.
Dr. Jack Werner (18:11):
We were just talking and this is such a
tremendous amount of work.
We were talking about thisChristmas project and that the
club raised $60,000 last year.
They man this thing from noonto six and longer on weekends,
all day long.
It takes about four Rotariansfrom Thanksgiving on all the way
(18:32):
through Christmas Eve to takepictures.
It's a lot of work and they'vedone it for well over 40 years
now.
Yep 100% charitable afterexpenses, yeah everything goes
to local charities and it'sreally a family tradition.
Oh yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
People come year after year.
We've been coming for 20 years.
I think.
The Santa Booth has been inservice for over 40 years, maybe
44, if I'm remembering exactly.
Brian Triger (18:57):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (18:57):
So Rotary is really making a big impact.
Here in Northwest Oklahoma CityEverybody knows about Santa.
Dr. Jack Werner (19:05):
Oh yeah, and I've been up here and you have
too.
We've seen people come in andsay, oh, not only my mom and dad
came here, my grandma andgrandpa came here to get
pictures, so it's a valuablething.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
Thank you so much.
Well, thanks for letting me popin.
Yeah, thank you, merryChristmas Thanks for coming.
Dr. Jack Werner (19:21):
Merry Christmas , janine, if I may Brian before
Janine popped in and I'm so gladshe stopped by.
But I wanted to mention and Iappreciate the humbleness is
valued, but you were a littlehumble there on your involvement
and gave us credit I want tomention.
You know, look at what you did.
I mean you brought Nancy Kewasfrom Waxahachie and got us to go
(19:43):
down while she joined Rotary asa new member just a couple of
months ago, and that's you and Iboth know.
I think anybody could see gosh.
When you get that type ofattention, does it make you feel
more a part of Rotary?
You know, here three of usdrove a few hundred miles for
her induction.
Of course that was important toher and anybody can see why.
(20:06):
And I appreciate you bringingher to our attention and
friendship and into part ofRotary.
Brian Triger (20:12):
Yeah, and I appreciate the reception and the
support.
It's been fun to see how, froma distance, the relationship
with Nancy and the WaxahachieClub, how that's playing out and
how supportive they're beingand how in such a unique way
she's able to contribute, andjust seeing another community
(20:35):
about three or four hours unfoldkind of under a rotary lens,
and how it's intertwined into amuch bigger system.
Dr. Jack Werner (20:54):
And I will mention wherever you are.
If you're in New York orCalifornia or Texas and
listening to this, if you say,gosh, maybe that's something I
ought to check into.
I mean, you can call me, youcan call Brian.
We'll find the right local clubfor you to hook up with and
somebody to give you a personalinvitation.
My name is Jack Warner and myphone number, my personal cell,
is 405-406-1790.
And, Brian, if you'll be kindenough to tell them how to, by
(21:16):
email or phone to contact you orthe podcast.
Brian Triger (21:19):
Oh, of course.
Yeah, my direct line is978-290-8200.
You can go to rotary5750.org.
Any contact within our districtis going to be available
through there.
Of course, if you need to getmore access to zone or
international level information,you can always visit rotaryorg.
(21:43):
One of the cool things aboutRotary is that, whether you
reach out to us or anyone inbetween an upcoming or a
prospective member, all the wayup to the president, most of the
time, if not all of the time,you are going to be pointed in
the right direction to get theinformation that you need.
Dr. Jack Werner (22:01):
Yeah, and if there's any problem, if you're
like me and kind of a Luddite ontechnology or you're just busy
or something fails, pick up thephone, call me.
I'll commit to getting ananswer for you and having the
right person contact with you.
My number again is 405-406-1790.
And I'm Jack Warner.
(22:22):
I own A to Z Inspections out ofOklahoma City and I am the
current district governor forRotary and it's a valuable,
wonderful organization, over 100years old, largest and oldest
civic club in the world.
Brian Triger (22:37):
So, jack, you've actually wrapped up most of the
other questions because you'vegiven really good quality
information.
Let's just jump into at leastone last formal question.
So, as you've said before, oryou've implied before, rotary's
future relies heavily on youthprograms like Rotaract, interact
(23:02):
, rila and WINGS and a varietyof other programs that we have
going on.
What steps is the districtcontinuing to take to strengthen
these programs and fosterfuture Rotarians?
Dr. Jack Werner (23:18):
Ryan, I'm so glad you mentioned because I
really didn't mention those verywell and for the layman perhaps
out there that is not thatfamiliar with Rotary, we all use
these acronyms.
Very simply, let me say whenyou were in high school if you
had a foreign exchange student,it was probably sponsored by
Rotary.
Foreign exchange student, itwas probably sponsored by Rotary
.
When we talk about Interact andRotaract, those are our youth
(23:48):
organizations in high school andthen in college.
I know in Midwest City HighSchool I think we've got over 50
members out there now andactive in that organization.
So all types of things.
Wings, by the way, is where wenot only sponsor foreign
exchange students in high schoolto go for a year to another
country and that country sendssomeone here.
We also have that youngprofessionals that we send over
(24:10):
for a few weeks to anothercountry and exchange them just
to learn different business anddifferent contacts in those
countries.
So Rotary does so many magicalthings that are international
all over the world.
What are we doing to foster it?
Number one Roy Woods, alfonsoNeves, just finished as the
Rotary District Trainer.
(24:30):
We have training at least twicea year on leadership and how to
involve and the things that areavailable, all the different
grants that are available inRotary.
Roy Woods is just concluding aninternational Rotary leadership
program and has agreed to beour district trainer for the
next three years.
(24:52):
And I mention that because, forthe first time, anybody in our
Rotary district we offered andpaid for their training.
This was an online training forRotary.
I think it was $150.
And as long as you completed it, the district would fully pay
(25:13):
for it.
So that's one thing that hadn'tbeen done before fully pay for
it.
So that's one thing that hadn'tbeen done before.
The other thing is we are payingfor any club officer, president
, treasurer, sergeant at arms,anybody in that line of
ascension in a clubpresident-elect.
We will pay for them to go topets or president-elect training
(25:35):
.
That's right now in Fort smith,coming up in march, and we'll
pay their whole way.
We'll not only pay for theenrollment, for the hotel and
all those things.
That's something that's notbeen offered, uh, and we don't
want somebody.
Perhaps you and I, brian, canafford it on our own, but, uh,
there may be some people.
You're married, you got kids,you got these things.
(25:55):
It's a struggle to commit, it'senough just to commit to time.
So we're going to pay their wayto go to that training.
Those are some different thingsthat we're doing, and every one
of us from myself to Mac Patel,to Michael Truitt, to Roy Woods
, and then we've got about adozen assistant district
governors and each one just hasthe responsibility of about
(26:17):
three clubs.
If you've got a problem, you'vegot a concern, you've got a
question, you can pick up thephone and call any of us.
We'll get you answers and orwe'll be there for you.
Brian Triger (26:27):
And that's great and for anyone in our district.
As you navigate the website,you'll be able to see different
ways to clearly communicate.
But if you, for instance, ifyou wanted to reach out to any
of the district governors thatwe have, or assistant governors
we have an assistant governorsection, the link for their
phone number or email all youhave to do is click on those
(26:49):
links and it'll either call orcreate an email prompt.
Dr. Jack Werner (26:54):
What's the website?
Brian Triger (26:55):
So it's rotary5750.org.
If you type in that on anybrowser and go to that website,
you will find all of theinformation that you need.
And then also, if you GoogleRotary 5750, it will.
As long as I and anyone elseworking on it are doing their
(27:16):
jobs, it will come up as thefirst link.
And also, if you need anyadditional resources, please
don't hesitate.
You can reach out to medirectly.
My name is Brian Traeger.
My contact information wasmentioned before, but my direct
no, mention it again please,it's 978-290-8200.
(27:37):
You can reach me directly, uhvia email, uh, info at
itsparkorg.
Uh, and yeah, I look forward tohelping anyone out that I can,
and uh, yeah, I I want to thankyou for coming out, jack, and uh
, I also uh want to uh to thankthe shops at North Park for
(28:04):
supporting the Santa event.
Dr. Jack Werner (28:09):
North Park Mall has just been such a colleague
and friend of Rotary for over 40years and hosting us and
allowing us to do that fabulousSanta Claus Christmas photo
project for all those yearsReally strong supporters.
I'll mention also, if you lookat the Midwest City Beacon, the
(28:30):
Rotary Spark podcast and BrianTrager on the front page of the
November 27th issue, if you wantto look that up.
And I so appreciate, brian,your initiative in starting this
.
You're the sole responsibleperson for the Rotary podcast.
What a neat deal, thank you.
Brian Triger (28:46):
Yeah, my pleasure.
It's been a lot of fun and Ilook forward to continuing the
adventure.
And I also want to take theopportunity to thank Hacienda
Tacos for providing good foodwhen we're in the mood for some
Mexican food.
Even though we're doing thismobile at the shops at North
Park, I still want to give ashout out to the Almonte Library
(29:08):
for giving us an opportunity torecord any time that we book a
recording session at no cost tous.
Book a recording session at nocost to us.
I want to thank the boardmembers over at ITSpark, as well
(29:28):
as everyone in District 5750and Rotary International as a
whole.
I want to thank everyone forlistening and participating in
any capacity.
And Merry Christmas everyone.
Happy holidays as well.
I love the lights and presentsof Christmas, so I'm going to
spotlight Merry Christmaswithout feeling guilty about it,
but I hope everyone's filledwith holiday cheer and until
next time.
Guitar solo you.
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