Lt Governor Training Zone Meetings Leadership Development Committee – June 2015

Why Zone Meetings? Why should Lt. Governors hold Zone meetings?

Purposes of the Zone Meeting Promote goals: of the Optimist District of Optimist International Build camaraderie Share ideas among Club leaders

Objectives of a Zone Meeting Build the Zone team Make all feel welcome and of value Have fun Determine what you want to achieve with the meeting Recognize the accomplishments of Clubs/leaders in the Zone Provide a time of fellowship and getting to know each other The objectives of the Zone meeting should be what you, as the Lt. Governor, want to accomplish during the Zone meeting. The Zone meeting should be fun and informational to all who attend. Your job as Lt. Governor is to make the meeting valuable for each attendee.

Zone meetings – when? At least once each quarter At a time and location that is convenient for Club officers and attendees Promoted well in advance to encourage attendance In order to encourage the best attendance at a Zone meeting, schedule the meeting on an evening or weekend morning or afternoon, preferably mid-way between your District quarterly conferences.

Zone meeting – who? Invite all club officers and Board members Encourage attendance of Members Plan to ask one of the District Chairs to attend to make a presentation – for example: Growth and membership incentives or Essay Chair to promote the Optimist International Essay contest and ways to encourage participation

Zone meeting – how? Have a specific agenda –distribute prior to the Zone meeting Hold the Zone meeting in a good location Have fun – offer prizes for attendance, etc. Ask for successes/ challenges in each club Provide announcements and reports as requested by your Governor Stay in control of the time To get attendance at the Zone meeting, the agenda should be distributed in plenty of time so that club officers and members can plan to attend. Your agenda should include a reason for people to attend (other than social), so plan to have a guest speaker. Your speaker can be a District Chair on a relevant topic for that quarter. For example: you may want to ask the Oratorical Chair to attend so that information can be distributed. The Chair could promote the contest and provide hints for finding schools and/or students to participate. The scheduling of the Club and Zone contests could also be discussed, as well as regional or District Finals. When sharing the successes and challenges of a club, be positive and supportive, especially with challenges that a club may be facing. Provide possible solutions to difficult situations and stay positive in your solutions. Keep the time in focus so that you stay on the agenda item and the control of the meeting does not get away from you.

Submit the Zone meeting report The Zone meeting report is important! Complete the report and submit it immediately after each Zone meeting The information that you provide will be beneficial to the District Governor and the District Secretary/Treasurer. It is important for the District Governor and District Secretary/Treasurer to receive the report of your Zone meeting. They will need to know who attended and what was discussed. Including a copy of your agenda with your Zone meeting report will be helpful. The Governor may have suggestions for you for future Zone meetings.