West Jax Rotary

Florida Air National Guard Tour
JIA

Notes
No Meeting Next Week at the Holiday Inn.  The Meeting will instead be the Oct 6 Air Nat’l Guard Tour.  The 2010 Blue Angel Air show will be at NAS Jax on Oct 22.

Guest Speaker was Mr. Peter Rummell Chairman with the Civic Council. Jacksonville’s Non-Group, whose membership roster was often the subject of intrigue, wielded power in relative obscurity for nearly two decades. Several members said they felt there was a leadership vacuum in the city, which needed to be addressed by a more public group. After voting to disband the Non-Group, several members joined with other leaders in launching the Jacksonville Civic Council. Initially composed of about 50 civic leaders the council has an executive director Mr. Don Shea to research issues and advocate for change, according to its chairman, Peter Rummell. “There has been concern for some time that there hasn’t been a strategic public-private partnership in Jacksonville,” Rummell said. “This group fills that void.”

Evolution of Civic Council:

• Started in February of 2010 after the break up of the Non-Group
• He spoke to dispel or take the mystery out of the civic counsel.
• He wants the Civic Counsel to be active and visible.
• Non Group started in the 90’s
• Non-Group was meant to be a core group of CEOs & Business Leaders to talk about ways to enhance communities.
• It had turned into a “supper club”

Lesson Learned From Non-Group Passed Along to Civic Counsel
• You must have a mission or purpose for good intentions are not a strategy.
• You can’t rely on volunteerism.
• You must find paid laborers.
• Must be a deliverable agenda.
• Must have goals.
• No matter the group 20% of the people will do 80% of the work.
• There is a critical mass needed to be successful to utilize the 20% that are going to work.
• The Non Group had 25 members of which 18 would show up to meetings. Hence the need for larger diversity and the decision to back into the current number of 50 members.

Other successful cities that have an agenda or are progressive have a structured civic organization or counsel. Chamber of Commerce is not this. Chamber is a retail outlet w/more then 4000 members. They can’t fight issues. Civic Counsel will closely with this and other organizations like this but will not get in the way or have a political affiliation.

List of Items To Deal With

1. City of the future
2. Thoughtful Re-Birth of Downtown
3. Emerging Medical Opportunity
4. The Jacksonville Jaguars
5. Education
6. Race
7. Adult Orders

In closing Mr. Rummell states “Vision Statement is not worth anything without measurements. The Civic Counsel has created benchmarks against other successful cities to measure its success.”

American Enterprise Institute states the 3 ways to create change:

1. Create a moral case as to why change is necessary.
2. Debunk any bad ideas about the case.
3. Introduce Positive Ways To Achieve The Goals.

Visiting Rotarians:
William Malone — Riverside
Marcus Drewa — South Jax

Rotary Guests:
Lauren Hopkins — Guest of Jimmy Kelly
Mike Yost — Guest of Tom Watson
Susannah CollinsJeff Collins
Tom Stanley — Guest of Jeff Ludwig
Don Shea — Guest of Peter Rummell

Next Meeting - October 13, 2010
Speaker: Gerhardt Thamm, Author of “The Making of a Spy” and “Boy Soldier”

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