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We hit the road to Northeast PELS and hand the mic to presidents-elect, district leaders, and longtime Rotarians who are stepping into big roles. The stories range from hilarious name-tag moments to serious talk on membership, global service, and leading from peace instead of chaos.
• Live voices from President-Elect Training and why it matters for Rotary leadership
• What assistant governors do and how districts keep tabs on club health
• Preparing for district leadership and building a team mentality
• A Haitian physician’s path into Rotary and what it means to have both received and given service
• Vocation, faith, and service above self as one integrated life
• Membership challenges, attendance culture, and why flexibility can strengthen engagement
• Balancing club traditions with needed change in long-established Rotary clubs
• Partnering with Kiwanis, Toastmasters, and other service organizations
• Global grants and international service projects including El Salvador and Ukraine support
• The leadership lesson that lands hardest: human beings, not human doings
Most importantly, I want you to remember that this whole thing is on YouTube. The Action to Impact YouTube channel. Check it out.
If you want me to hit your Pels next year, let me know. Rotarianpod at gmail.com.

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We get honest about why the arts feel easier to ignore than roads or schools and why that choice costs us empathy, creativity, and shared community life. Brian Rodolfo, president and CEO of The Cabot, explains how a historic theater stays open by blending commercial shows with mission-driven arts education, outreach, and affordable access.
• the arts as a tool for empathy, creativity, and collaboration across every field
• why arts funding gets politicized and how art “shines a light” on society
• when shocking art works and when it feels empty
• a practical definition of art as something that moves you and makes you think
• Brian’s career path from lighting design to programming to CEO
• The Cabot’s roots as a 1920 movie palace and vaudeville house
• curated movie nights and the power of a shared audience experience
• the economics of running a nonprofit community arts venue
• access programs including Vet Tix and Massachusetts EBT Card to Culture
• why big-name patronage looks quieter today and how smaller gifts add up
• arts and science connections including dementia, autism, and music therapy research
Check out the website. We’ve started a sponsorship program. It starts as easy as $3 a month, and it helps me get this show out there. If you’re interested in having the Action to Impact podcast and video cast come to your neck of the woods, be it your club, your assembly, your zone event, anything, Rotarianpod at gmail.com, message me. If you have somebody that you feel is turning their actions into impact, let me know. That same address, Rotarianpod at gmail.com.

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Encore Presentation — March

Join us for a special encore: an intimate conversation with Past RI President Gordon McInally, recorded before his term. Hear his vision to spotlight mental health and inspire global hope. Listen to Gordon McInally today on the podcast.

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We talk with Eduardo Tavar Lopez from the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project in Beverly about how new farmers get trained and why sustainable farming depends on real systems like land access, education, and distribution. We also connect the dots between organic standards, food literacy, and food security through New Entry’s incubator farm and Food Hub.

• New Entry’s origins through Tufts University and its evolution beyond refugee and immigrant farmer support
• Scholarships and training designed for new and beginning farmers
• How an incubator farm works and why a three-year runway matters
• What growers raise on the incubator plots and why vegetables dominate
• Hydroponics learning options through self-paced online courses
• What a food chemist does and how food science connects to farming
• Practical definitions of sustainable farming that include environmental and financial reality
• What organic certification means and why the transition period is costly
• How the Food Hub aggregates local produce for schools, senior centers, hospitals, and food pantries
• Mobile markets as a tool for food access and community reach
• Why farming is “surviving” and how land access limits the next generation
• Food literacy as a pathway to less waste and more respect for growers

Please support just by spreading the word that’s already enough.
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If you have a guest that I should know about rotarian.pod at gmail.com.

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We talk with Larry Strober about why Peace Poles still matter in a world full of conflict and how Rotary can turn a simple public marker into real peacebuilding momentum. We trace the movement back to Hiroshima in 1955, then follow its evolution into the Oregon Peace Trail, the Peace Game, and a bold moonshot for peace by 2030.
• the origin story of “May Peace Prevail On Earth” and why 1955 matters
• how Rotary Peace Poles spread worldwide and why the project is bigger than Rotary
• using QR codes to make Peace Poles interactive and teach Rotary’s Four-Way Test
• why Peace Poles work as personal reminders and community gathering points
• the Oregon Peace Trail plan and how peace projects can attract younger members
• the Peace Game framework and the seven peace actions that build peacebuilders
• the 2030 moonshot and the idea of peace zones anchored by Peace Poles
• how Rotary leadership structure can slow peace work and how peace builder clubs help
• why peace supports every other Rotary area of focus including polio eradication
You can tell a friend about the podcast, okay? Have them subscribe. If you have a location that you'd like to see your podcast go to, shoot me in the email: Rotarianpodsymail.com.

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We sit down with Celia Cruz de Shi to trace a life of service shaped by family, faith in community, and bold leadership, from a childhood moment of empathy to steering Rotary’s first global virtual convention. Two new books capture three decades of women’s impact and the path ahead to a more diverse, agile Rotary.

• early service sparked by a simple act of compassion
• partnership and family support during a Rotary presidency
• converting Honolulu 2020 into a 67,000-person virtual convention
• practical membership levers: invitation, image, access
• youth pipelines through Interact and Rotaract
• women’s leadership milestones and a 50% participation goal
• two books: Voices That Inspire and Voices of Leadership
• diversity as a driver of better projects and decisions
• The Sun Never Sets in Rotary global celebration
• why hybrid access should be part of Rotary’s future

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If you have a guest idea, email RotarianPod@gmail.com
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THIS MONTHS ENCORE SHOW : Out of 1.4 million Rotarians six were chosen by RI as "People of Actions, Champions of Inclusion" and one of those six Rotary members is our friend Anderson Zerwes. join us as I talk to Anderson about how winning this award has changed his life and how being a "Rotarian of inclusion" is something he truly is proud of.

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Time to learn about "Bedlessness" maybe a made up word, but it's not a made up problem, kids with no beds, or safe places to sleep. Luke joins me to tell of how a simple project in his garage turned into a program that made more then 90,000 beds just last year for kids.

www.SHPbeds.org

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