Civitan District Conventions - First Three Trips

This blog is written by Mark Eisinger, the incoming President of Civitan International for the year beginning this October 1st, 2009 to September, 2010. I will chronicle the times, travels, stories, ideas for service projects, fellowship and knowledge. Come back often and I will alert you to updates if you follow me via www.twitter.com/civimark and/or www.facebook.com/civimark. Many have asked about the speech I made at the installation banquet, I have emailed many copies of the script. Civitan International Director of Communications David Bledsoe has now uploaded the speech on Youtube.com. Here is the link, please share with others in your district and club: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBoKLZT8Xlc. 167 people have viewed it so far. Thank you David!

Today is September 11th and I pause to remember and to pray for those that were affected by this unfortunate event 8 years ago. I was able to visit the Pentagon Memorial with my Governor Maribeth Jacobs, immediately following the Chesapeake Civitan District Convention. This will be discussed in my blog.

My birthday recognition for Civitan

August 5^th was my birthday and Facebook’s Cause application sent me an offer to celebrate my birthday by asking my Facebook friends to donate to Civitan International in lieu of gifts. I was led through the process and easily set up status updates that would automatically update every few days and on my birthday. My goal was $500 to be donated, in increments of $25 each. I was able to raise $175 for Civitan International in just a few days and a few of the donors were not Civitans!

Heartland District Civitan Convention

The next day, I headed to the airport for my first trip of 9 District Conventions with a flight on Southwest Airlines to Little Rock, Arkansas. Cassi was supposed to accompany me, but her work at the bank took precedence so I traveled alone. Incoming International Director Fred Norman picked me up at the airport, and we traveled to Hot Springs. We discussed club building and some new ideas for the future.

I was surprised about the humidity and the trees. It looked like we were driving through a forest! We arrived on Thursday, August 6^th at the hotel and met up with some good friends. Current International Director Shirley Stone and her husband Bill invited me to join them for dinner, along with Dr. Hank Janzen. We headed for the best ribs in Hot Springs. McClard’s Bar-B-Q Restaurant (www.mcclards.com) has been smoking meat for over 80 years. The smell was awesome when we found the small, old restaurant. We selected various versions of ribs and it was a memorable dinner!

The next morning started the convention themed “Having a Ball in Hot Springs”, complete with goody bags made of material and emblazoned with various graphics of different types of “balls”, baseball, juggler’s balls, billiard balls, golf balls, etc. They even had matching t-shirts! My Governor Debbie Juhlke and I were brought to the front of the meeting room and I threw the first pitch accurately into Debbie’s baseball glove! The baseball was imprinted with the “Heartland District”.

Current Governor Jack Fournier presented me with the baseball as a souvenir.

For lunch, we went to the Hot Springs Country Club where Civitan hosted a great luncheon with various businesses that purchased tables. Civitan's honoree was Keith Jackson, a former Green Bay Packer Football player. Keith had an awesome message about “Passion, Purpose, and Productivity”. He was very personable, signing autographs and taking pictures with Civitans and guests. He found out I was going to be International President and that I was from Las Vegas. He stated that he didn’t gamble, he went to Las Vegas for the buffets! I suggested he try the Paris Hotel buffet on his next trip. Keith made a note of this dining option.

On Friday evening, there were two options for the city tours, one was an art walk, I chose the walking tour of the Garvan Woodland Gardens. I was able to dine on a box dinner with Past International President Markham Howe and his wife Gayle. The wide variety of lush plants from all over the world were expansive. A young University of Arkansas student provided explanations of the history and the plants that we observed.

On Saturday, we began the business meeting with nominations, elections and I spoke about “Momentum” and our desire to maintain a momentum of growth, excitement and impact in our communities through Civitan. Debbie then revealed our new theme “Civitan Rocks Our World” with a loud Freddy Mercury style announcement (Mike Blackwood) and “We Will Rock You” on the speakers! New logo shirts with a custom front “Heartland District – Solid as a Rock” set this district’s shirts apart from other theme logo shirts.

Saturday afternoon had two great seminars, C. W. Miller presented Tricky Triangles, a great communication seminar. While I presented a new workshop “Technology On The Rocks” (adapted from Civitan International Public Relations Director David Bledsoe’s workshop held at the Las Vegas Civitan International Convention), an hour long Powerpoint overview of technology changes and those that are being used by Civitans as tools for awareness, recruiting and social interaction.

After a break, the participants returned for a live session with an online look at Skype video conference with my daughter Morgan in Las Vegas, an example of Facebook, Twitter, TweetDeck and YouTube, along with the Civitan website. The room was only set for 20 Civitans, but many chairs were brought in for a total of 45 who attended this new workshop.

At night, awards were given and I presented a keynote speech similar to my installation speech at the International convention and then I installed Debbie Juhlke and her team as the next Heartland Civitan District leaders! I used rough rocks to symbolize Service, polished rocks for Knowledge and a crystal for Fellowship. Special thanks to the Hot Springs Civitan Club for great hospitality and organization as the host club for the convention!

Sunday, Past International Director Jack Truesdale and Lee drove me and Albert Cox back to Little Rock. We had some time, so Jack drove around the Clinton Library and many downtown Little Rock sites. This was my first visit to Little Rock, so I appreciated the tour. Then off to the airport and back to Las Vegas!

Alabama North Civitan District Convention

On August 13, Southwest Airlines was our transportation to the Alabama North Civitan District Convention. My daughter Morgan joined me on this trip, with only two weeks before her school start, this would be our only opportunity for a trip before school absorbed her time. We flew into Birmingham, my Governor Elizabeth McDowell and her husband Robert, picked us up at the airport. We traveled to Lake Guntersville State Park and checked into the rustic lodge.

Friday afternoon, Morgan was outside on our balcony that overlooked Lake Guntersville, she was taking pictures of the lake and a squirrel that was on the ledge a floor below. We found some peanuts and tossed some down. The squirrel went to each one, and one by one, sat on his hind quarters and used his front paws to hold the nut and nibble. Then, we borrowed Elizabeth and Robert’s Jeep Cherokee and drove over to the campground area, saw a couple of emus, shopped at the country store, bought a couple of YooHoos and drove through the forest. We came upon deer standing in the middle of the road. I stopped the car and we marveled at the closeness of these beautiful calm animals. We counted five total in this area. Then we continued to drive and saw more deer, we counted a total of 17 deer.

Friday evening, Alabama North Civitan District Junior Civitan Governor Kristin Ford and Junior Civitan Secretary/Treasurer Brittney Alexander arrived and Morgan was glad to have teens her age there to hang with. Seeing Past International President Dr. Bobbie Walden and Bob and Past International Director Ric Moore and Frances was wonderful! Since it was a western theme, I gave my Civitan Rocks Our World speech (similar to my installation acceptance speech) while wearing a western outfit including my prized leather jacket from the 50^th anniversary of the National Finals Rodeo which are held in Las Vegas.

Saturday was a great day with business sessions, nominations, elections, awards. I was presented the Key to the City of Guntersville, my very first key to a city! Then in the afternoon, I was honored to train the Alabama North District Area Directors. Then the presidents joined the directors for a reception and I presented my team building exercise “The Big Picture” using puzzles and leading the group to a very applicable Civitan orientated meaning.

Saturday night completed awards presentations, finalized the silent auction, presented door prizes and a key was found that unlocked the treasure chest. I installed my Governor Elizabeth McDowell’s team for the next Civitan year. I again used the “Civitan Rocks” installation speech. Elizabeth had the three rocks in a little woven bag at each person’s place. She also had special one-inch “Civitan Rocks Our World” pins and name badges made.

Morgan made some new friends and enjoyed our time together. Early Sunday morning, Robert McDowell chauffeured us back to Birmingham to board our home flight back to Las Vegas, another special weekend concluded!

Chesapeake Civitan District Convention

Thursday, August 20^th started early as I went to McCarran Airport to catch my Delta (Northwest) flight to Detroit, then onto Washington DC – Reagan National Airport for the Chesapeake Civitan District Convention. I thought I was lucky since Delta upgraded me to First Class from Las Vegas to Detroit, but Mother Nature was not my lucky charm. As we approached Detroit, the pilot announced that we needed to circle Toledo for about a half hour due to a large bank of thunderstorms preventing airplanes to land in Detroit. This delay caused a 45 minute reduction in a one hour lay-over. Since I was in First Class, I did get the advantage of an early deplaning. I rushed to the gate for my connecting flight and when I arrived, they closed the door. Out of breath, I asked the gate attendant if I had missed the flight. She assured me that they had not begun boarding process. So I sat and waited.

Although we left late, I still was in pretty good shape with my timing. You see, I was to give a keynote address to the Frederick Civitan Club meeting Thursday evening at 7:00pm. The plane traveled on the taxi lane and then made an abrupt stop… the engines stopped and the pilot announced that the thunderstorms have prevented east bound flights from taking off. There were 15 planes in front of us and he had no idea how long the wait would be. The wait turned into an hour long delay and then we took off toward Washington D.C. I arrived at 7:00pm and after luggage and found Governor Joe O’Toole, we were on the road to Frederick. Here we are driving by our nation’s most notable landmarks, the White House, the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial. And here again we are driving through a forest! Beautiful drive.

We finally arrived at the restaurant around 8:30pm, Even though it was a half hour after the meeting had ended, there were 25 Civitan members and guests still waiting our arrival. I felt honored that so many would stick around and wait. They had watched the new Civitan International Research Center video. Past International President Syd Fishman attended, along with International Director Charlie Jackowski and Patti, Past International Director Fon Smith and Charlie, Club President Bill Jackson and of course Governor Joe O’Toole and JoAnn. I gave a speech similar to the one that I gave the night of my installation in Las Vegas at the International Convention.

Next, we caravanned to Martinsburg, WV to the Holiday Inn, the weekend home of the Chesapeake Civitan District Convention. Friday was filled with meetings of the Chesapeake District Foundation and the Board of Directors. Then after a nice meal with Governor Joe and JoAnn, the Foundation Meeting began, where many important topics were discussed, elections held and grants given. It was great to see Foundation President Chip Hill and Secretary Bev, Treasurer Whit Mallory and Eleanor, and my fellow Governor from 1998-1999 Doug Potter and Patty and Past International Director Patty Kinder and Eugene at this meeting.

Saturday morning began with the festivities of a convention opening. Elections were held and Incoming Governor Maribeth Jacobs and I presented the new theme “Civitan Rocks Our World”! I presented my “Big Picture” team building exercise with the delegates and they had a great time! In the afternoon, I met with the six Area Directors and they are now officially trained!

Saturday evening started the banquet celebration. The theme of the banquet was “Lost in the 50’s”. It was very conducive to the new Civitan Rocks theme. Many wore clothing of the era, including poodle skirts, slicked back hair, pink ladies and Thunderbirds. A young Civitan, Julie Ludwick, sang the National Anthem with her beautiful voice! I sported a bowling shirt and rolled up jeans while I installed Governor Maribeth Jacobs and her new team. The “Civitan Rocks” Installation Speech was again the popular selection. Past International President Syd Fishman assisted me in the pinning of the new team. The room was decorated with records, inflated guitars, microphones and saxophones. The disc jockeys began their production, all were wearing the same color of bowling shirt as I was wearing. They entertained everyone with a hoola hoop competition, line dancing, even the late Elvis visited obviously from his later years. The Civitans, young and experienced enjoyed the music by taking advantage of the dance floor.

Sunday morning after a breakfast gathering, the Chesapeake Civitan District Convention came to a close and all bid farewell until next time. Maribeth became a tour guide and drove me to some monuments I hadn’t seen before. We went to Iwo Jima, past the Arlington Cemetary, and the Air Force Memorial, then we stopped at the Pentagon Memorial and saw the tribute to the 184 persons who died on that spot on September 11, 2001. The “wing” style benches, one for each of the 184, some pointing toward the Pentagon (those on the plane) and some pointing opposite (for those in the Pentagon). It was a very moving experience. After a quick lunch at a huge mall nearby, I was back on a Northwest flight to Minneapolis, then on to Vegas. Oh, and I was upgraded again… both flights! Another fantastic Civitan weekend experience!

Next blog, more trips to Magnolia District and the Region 5 Canadian Districts Convention! Until then, have a great week!