President Adam Manning welcomed everyone to the Centerville Rotary Club and led reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. PDG Harvey Smith provided the prayer.
Today’s quote provided by Don Overly: "There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind." Mister Rogers
Today’s Announcements
- Thanks to today’s greeters, Boyd Preston and Dale Berry.
- Ron Tringali had a house fire that caused extensive damage. All are safe and he will be staying with his son in Hershey, PA until the end of August while repairs are being done. He sends thanks for all the messages from club members.
- Tomorrow is the District Gala dinner, 5:30 pm. See Adam if you have any questions.
- This Saturday, the Coffee Club will have its first service project building planting beds at the VA. Please dress appropriately. You can still attend if you didn’t sign up. It is at Lyons Place 2, starts at 8:30 am, and please bring wheel barrels and shovels.
- Brad Thorp shared the Scholarship committee (Harvey Smith, Elda Gotos Gay, Mark Febus, Brad Thorp) interviewed 10 students this week. All of the students are so well qualified and focused on developing themselves. The committee decided to fund $2,000 scholarships to each of the 10 students. The students will be here in June to share more about their plans post graduation.
- Frank Perez announced we still need some volunteers for the Golf Outing next Friday, specifically an observer for the Hole in One. Only qualification is to be able to sit in a chair. Coffee Club meets this coming Tuesday, 7:30 am at ContempoRoast.
- Arnie Biondo announced our Club is sponsoring an exchange student (girl) from Uganda who will arrive Aug 1. We are also sponsoring a short term outbound student.
- Uriah Anderson reminded all to sign up for the FREE tickets to the Dayton Dragons game on May 28
Happy Bucks this quarter will be donated to Operation Warm, providing winter coats to children in need in partnership with Hannah’s Treasure Chest.
Pat Beckel was our Sergeant at Arms.
Happy Bucks were generously given for:
- Pat B is enjoying working so many hours, and his boys will be home soon, so he will start looking for a manager.
- Ron H said thanks to Carol K he now knows what the huge woodpecker is that’s coming to the feeder at his back porch - Pileated Woodpecker (Woody Woodpecker patterned after this one.)
- Arnie B ran into former member, Jack Durnbaugh, who is still too busy to get away for lunch meetings, so Arnie suggested he attend the Coffee Club.
- Harvey S was happy to be here.
- Carol K was happy to be traveling to Philadelphia tomorrow for a weekend of soccer games and birthday party with her grandkids.
- Bob D was happy to be here.
- Brad T announced his son, Brit and daughter-in-law, Molly officially opened their new Ceramics school & studio last Friday. They have already booked over 60% of the classes for the next 2 months.
- Mark K was happy it is graduation time for many of his nieces and nephews.
- Jim H was happy to be here.
- Chuck K got three very high quotes to repair the car dent, but then found a place in Oakwood that fixed it for only $200.
- Gina S shared the Independent Book Store day was a success, with 20+ authors in a store in Marion, IN
- Mark F said we had an incredible group of scholarship recipients this year.
- Lee H gave $80 for his 80th birthday. Happy Birthday, Lee! Today’s Farm Report - The Kilpatrick family in Carlisle, OH owns The Farm on Central. They shared the 10 Rules for successful farm and life balance.
Our speaker today was Rod Robinson, Entrepreneur, Advisor, and Investor.
Rod talked about Inflection points - moments that can change the trajectory of your life, but you may not realize it at the time. He is reflecting on his life now and the inflection points that impacted his life.
Rod is currently a Principal Director at Accenture, advising corporate and private equity clients on procurement transformation and supplier strategy. He founded ConnXus and is an active investor and advisor to high-growth companies with a focus on AI and enterprise software.
Rod said he felt successful but also that something was missing and took that as a signal that something larger is out there waiting for him.
“80% of life is showing up especially before you know where it leads.”
Rod’s first Inflection Point came when he decided to leave a solid job at Deloitte to go to Wharton. It was hard to leave a great job, but made the decision to leave something good for something better. He understood how large systems work and create value, but never learned how to create value for himself. So he took the leap. He said you don’t need certainty, but you do need conviction to make a big change.
The 2nd Inflection Point came as his company was struggling and then got a call from the McDonald’s Corporation who was looking for a new software vendor to serve their growth needs. Rod replied to the RFP, and although he was the unknown business, they got the contract and were propelled to the next level. Then they landed Coke, Harley Davidson, and more. Building relationships developed more capital, more customers, etc.
Running his own company built value for himself. He was now helping others achieve their goals. Scale critical moments for other companies.
#3 Inflection Point happened when he returned to Accenture, but in a different capacity. He is angel investing now and is a builder of builders.
Rod gave advice for graduating seniors - look to your left, look to your right, build relationships with others and help use that as a guide.
