Those who attended the 2025 Zones 30-31 Institute in New Orleans won’t forget it anytime soon. On Thursday, guests were welcomed to the Big Easy by the Warren Easton High School band, marching through the ballroom, with Institute Committee members and others throwing a shower of Mardi Gras beads. The afternoon saw two more General Sessions, where we heard from RID Brian Hall, PRIP’s Barry Rassin, RIPE Larry Lunsford, TRFT Ann-Britt Åsebol, and Nicki Scott. Rotary Peace Fellow and musician David LaMotte entertained us before we adjourned to the River Boat for an evening cruise on the Mississippi. See pictures here: https://www.rizones30-31.org/zone-institute
Friday brought the start for another class of Emerging Rotary Leaders, with General Sessions on Membership and Public Image, both of which included recognition for our highest-achieving districts in those areas. The morning gave us an opportunity to meet and recognize our incoming class of governors and Public Image awards were presented. Evan Burrell took us for a ride in his time machine to give us a Rotary history lesson, with its tie-in to why people want to belong to Rotary clubs that change and adapt.
Attendees could choose from 16 breakout sessions, each with its own topic, split into one morning and one afternoon session. Official events ended at 3:30, leaving plenty of time to take in the sights and sounds of the city, to “pass a good time”, and “laissez les bon temps rouler“.
Saturday was packed and started off with the Major Donor & Bequest Society Recognition and Breakfast. That was followed by three more General Sessions, focused on our Foundation, Membership, and Polio Eradication. TRFT Ann-Britt Åsebol shared an overview of our Foundation’s work, including last year’s preliminary statistics.
In addition to meeting our DGN class in that morning session, Foundation awards were distributed. In the afternoon General Session, RIPE Larry Lunsford spoke from the heart to encourage us to reach our membership goal of reaching 1.25 million members by 2030.
Another 16 breakout sessions were split between morning and afternoon, giving attendees numerous opportunities to learn, interact, and share ideas. In the afternoon, PRIP Barry Rassin addressed the group about the need for us to remain steadfast in our commitment to End Polio, before we heard from our RIDE Mike Kelly.
The Institute was capped off by the NOLA Food Fest in Generations Hall, an unprecedented feast of Louisiana dishes like shrimp etouffee’, pork jambalaya, boiled jumbo shrimp, alligator jambalaya, shrimp cocktails, mini-muffalettas and so much more. Attendees were well-fed and well-lubricated before watching RID Brian Hall make good on a promise to shave his head in acknowledgement of our work to hit his goals.
These are just a very few of the highlights of this Institute. Mention should be made of The HUB, which featured vendors, service projects and more. The facilities were well-suited to us, with plenary session rooms, the HUB, and banquet rooms, all adjacent to one another AND just downstairs from the guest rooms. The included meals were a cut above usual convention or conference fare, with several choices of meat, seafood, vegetarian and vegan meals available. The overall relaxed, and informal atmosphere contributed greatly to the enjoyment of what could otherwise be a stiff, impersonal experience. And after all, hey, it was NEW ORLEANS!
Hats off to RID Brian, Institute Chair Richard Churchman, and the entire Institute committee for an exceptional event and experience. (Don’t be the one missing out next year in Lexington.)
