SEP 23, 2014 ROTARY IN REVIEW:
Virtual Unreality: Pairing Millenials with Boomers

Chuck Field opened the meeting.  Dennis Boom (piano) played along.  It sounded vaguely like “God Save the Queen,” but most proper Englishmen would say that’s just one more thing Americans have botched up in bringing UK culture to this side of the Atlantic. 

Ken Peterson (Union Gospel Mission) delivered an invocation that might be described as “omnifarious” in terms of its vocabulary selection.  During the only point when your Scribe’s powers of recall seemed functioning, he heard the adjectives: omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent.  At this point, your Scribe sat down and returned to his omnivorous pursuits.

President John thanked Mary Britts and Corey Edmunds for their service as door greeters.  Next John introduced your Scribe (Joe Beckman), cautioning members to watch what they say in view of an apparent perception that your Scribe takes artistic license with the facts and otherwise is perhaps snarky in the course of discharging this office.  This scurrilous statement caused your Scribe to briefly consider for the first time in his quarter century of practice whether to commence a defamation action against a sitting judge . . . a course he quickly dismissed upon realizing “truth” is a defense to such a claim.

Reminders included:

• Something about a Rose Sale on Thursday.  This was sort of unclear.
• Jay Pfaender promoted next week’s program featuring Don Hall, whose speech is entitled, “Generation of Wealth...the rise of Control Data and how it inspired an era of innovation and investment in the Upper Midwest.”
• The Club’s April 18-29 Friendship exchange with Romania (application/deposit due January 9, 2015).
• Laurie Murphy reported on the status of the dictionary project.
• Thursday’s Fellowship Breakfast Speaker:  NO MEETING – This will give everyone a chance to pick up their roses at Van Paper Company.

Linda Mulhern introduced the week’s visiting Rotarian, a member of Club 9 in Minneapolis who works next door!  There were also several guests, but your Scribe’s computer was not yet booted up and the head cold that caused him to nod off at his desk that morning kept him in a fog.  You get what you pay for, folks.

Dick Zehring introduced two multiple Paul Harris Fellows.  Sixteen year Rotarian Al Zdrazil received a 3 ruby pin (over $9,000).  Rotarian Carole Kralicek was also singled out for her years of omnibus financial support of Rotary’s many good works.

President John then turned over the microphone to Carla Hauge who handled Happy Dollars.  The Club received greetings from Winnipeg, and all were urged to attend the upcoming International Goodwill meeting.  Tony Schuerman announced he started his new job yesterday.  Malcom McLean was grateful for Al Zdrazil ’s “transport company” that got him to the meeting.

Carla could take no more, so she literally left the room with the microphone.  (Again . . . for those of you still awake, your Scribe is not making this stuff up folks.)  President John miraculously “found” a second microphone and he seized control of the proceedings back from Carla.

Jay Pfaender introduced our speaker, John Hoffman Regional Managing Director with the Minnesota Business Center of the Principal Financial Group.  John talked about his experience recruiting “millenials” (i.e., members of Gen Y, which covers typically those born between 1982 and 1995) into the workforce and how their style and approaches are substantially different from those in the room who are “Baby Boomers” (1945-64) or “Greatest Generation” (pre 1945).

Growing up in an era where “helicopter parenting” was more likely to occur, and in which technology transitioned us into an “instant feedback” society, Gen Y thinks and works differently.  They are, in some ways, conditioned to this type of reward.  This, of course, leads to them being “connected” while staring at their smart phone, tablet or (if they are the Luddites of their generation) a horribly clunky laptop.

Thus, they may confound Boomers by a desire to leave the office early on a Friday to sit at an outdoor café with their laptop.  They can (and do), however, “stay connected” and connect with prospects while working al fresco.

These Gen Y employees, who are between the ages of 19-32, are in the work force and will continue to be a force.  Demonstrating an openness to adopt their communication styles and techniques will help you keep yourself (and your business) more relevant as this generation grows to maturity.

Notably, Mr. Hoffman really did not speak about members of “Gen X,” which covers 1965 to 1981.  Numerically they are a much smaller generation than either the Boomers or Gen Y.  Your Scribe, a Boomer, has younger siblings who are members of Gen X, attests here to their general uselessness, and commends Mr. Hoffman for generally ignoring them.

The meeting ended horribly late, at 1:06 p.m.  This exhausted your already physically infirm Scribe, who managed to avoid falling asleep at the wheel while he traversed the three miles to his home and promptly fell asleep.

Joe Beckman, Scribe