MAY 13, 2014 ROTARY IN REVIEW:
Rotary Values Day featuring Marilyn Carlson Nelson

President Captain Jim Kosmo commended Carley Stuber, Michael-jon Pease, Steve Young, Joe Kovarik and Mindee Kastellic for all their work on the values day morning session (Mindee’s name earned a special “whoo hoo” screech).

The response to the Values Day program was very positive and Kosmo eagerly anticipates a “second annual” event (a “first annual” being grammatically and practically impossible).

Steve Young summarized the morning session of our Values Day. The day began with a debate on the question “Does America Have a Values Crisis” offered by Mitch Perlstein and Rich Broderick, followed by some polling questions to gauge the evolving thoughts of the group.  Rotary table leaders moderated discussions on various ethical questions taken from the headlines put to the Four Way Test.

Mitch spoke in the affirmative of the debate question, stating that yes, we do have a values crisis as evidenced by these four realities:

• Family fragmentation;
• Acquiescence in this fragmentation;
• Students with high self-esteem who don’t work as hard in school as they used to or as hard as their counterparts across the world;
• An inability to balance our books, personally or in government.

Rich took the opposing viewpoint, stating that Americans still share the same common values, and the points Mitch mentioned are symptoms, rather than causes of the following changes in our society:

• Militarization (70 years of war footing and preparedness in 150 countries which leads to promiscuity and violence in any culture that experiences such a sustained period of militarization)
• Social Inequality created by changing government policies and subsidies that serve corporate profit interests. The result of these policies has created an oligarchy motivated to accumulate “more.”
• Our traditional institutions continue to promote our core values, but media is the “new normative institution” that espouses narcissistic, profit-motivated values.

Captain Jim Kosmo introduced innovative business leader Stanley S. Hubbard, who in turn praised and introduced one of our great leaders, Marilyn Carlson Nelson.  Marilyn opened with the story of Jack McCullister, then of Midwestern Bell Telephone, who decided to pull funding from fraternal organizations like Rotary because Bell’s rising women and African-American leaders and were not welcomed in our clubs and at the leadership tables of their communities.  When told “now is too soon to take such a hard approach toward change,” Jack responded with “If not now, when?”

Today was a great example, not only of Rotary taking Marilyn’s good idea for such an event, but of Rotary’s core values to develop ethical leadership and foster community discussion. The program was inspired by Carlson Companies international “Values Day” which gives employees time one day each year to discuss and explore the company credo:

“Whatever you do, do with Integrity. Wherever you go, go as a Leader. Whomever you serve, serve with Caring. Whenever you dream, dream with your All. And never, ever give up.”

Nelson quoted a favorite poem that likened our sense of values as grasping a thread that pulls us through the turmoil, heartache and uncertainty of life’s inevitable ups and downs. Her inspiring words rounded out a day of candid and respectful discussion that held up our Four Way Test as a model of ethical decision making.

Respectfully submitted,

Michael-jon Pease, Scribe