Editors Note: My wife Doreen recently introduced me to the book Everybody Matters. Doreen along with the leadership team at Plymouth Foam are currently working to implement concepts mentioned in Bob's book into their company. My first thought after watching this video is how close these principles align with our Four-Way-Test. Take a peek and see if you agree.

“Bob Chapman, CEO of the $1.7 billion manufacturing company Barry-Wehmiller, is on a mission to change the way businesses treat their employees.” – Inc. Magazine

Starting in 1997, Bob Chapman and Barry-Wehmiller have pioneered a dramatically different approach to leadership that creates off-the-charts morale, loyalty, creativity, and business performance. The company utterly rejects the idea that employees are simply functions, to be moved around, "managed" with carrots and sticks, or discarded at will. Instead, Barry-Wehmiller manifests the reality that every single person matters, just like in a family. That’s not a cliché on a mission statement; it’s the bedrock of the company’s success.

During tough times a family pulls together, makes sacrifices together, and endures short-term pain together. If a parent loses his or her job, a family doesn’t lay off one of the kids. That’s the approach Barry-Wehmiller took when the Great Recession caused revenue to plunge for more than a year. Instead of mass layoffs, they found creative and caring ways to cut costs, such as asking team members to take a month of unpaid leave. As a result, Barry-Wehmiller emerged from the downturn with higher employee morale than ever before. 

Editor's Note: Jeff Wenzler has spoken to our club on several occasions.

By Madison Goldbeck - News Graphic

MEQUON — Just two weeks ago, Jeff Wenzler of Mequon was on a mission trip in Kingston, Jamaica, when he was stabbed in the kidney with a knife during a robbery. But Wednesday, he was sitting in a Mequon dog park relishing forgiveness, his faith in humanity unshaken.

“If people can survive in a landfill area with smiles on their face, joy in their heart with faith and hard work, then I can handle a scar,” Wenzler said.

Wenzler runs the local nonprofit Pivotal Directions, which focuses on humanitarian projects, specifically in Kingston. Wenzler has connected hundreds of volunteers over the years to a landfill area in Riverton to perform construction of homes, educational projects and mentoring, among other things.

On Oct. 7, Wenzler was nearly killed trying to stop one of his volunteers from being robbed. The woman was carrying a clutch that contained her passport, money and phone. Two young Jamaican men approached them.

“I heard the struggle in her voice, I jumped in – and I think anyone would,” Wenzler said. “I didn’t know they had knives. I had tunnel vision, but I was focused on retrieving her purse.”

Wenzler chased the men as they ran away with the purse. After cornering one of the men, the other man stabbed him twice, once in the kidney. Wenzler said he wasn’t even aware he was stabbed due to adrenaline. He continued to chase the men, until he felt his side and found his hands covered in blood. He collapsed and the men got away.

A good Samaritan rushed to Wenzler’s side and ripped off his own shirt and belt to help stop the bleeding. Another Samaritan pulled up in his car and rushed Wenzler to the hospital.

By Anabella Bonfa, Rotary Club of Irvine, California, USA, with Anthony Bonfa

My husband and I and our teenage son Anthony all volunteer at 30 or more projects every year. We consider ourselves a Rotary family. All three of us are hands-on because we come from a smart club that engaged our son in Rotary projects at a young age.

We all enjoy Rotary because it gives us a joint activity where we can spend time together with mutual friends, contribute our individual talents, and create a better world. My club went out of their way to include Anthony from day one. This is how he explains it:

“My first experience with Irvine Rotary was when I was 9. My mom had just joined the club and she started taking me to every volunteer project with her. I didn’t know what to do to help at first. Don Kennedy was the president of the club that first year and he changed everything for me by putting me to work.

“I remember being at a local food drive where we were collecting food donations outside a grocery store. Don reached into his pocket, pulled out $40 and told me to go shop in the store for “food samples” to put on our display table. That same day, Don told me I was old enough to count all the money and checks, about $400 worth and I became his official accountant. I had a great time shopping and counting money as you can see in the photo (right).

By Joe Otin, governor-elect of Rotary District 9212 (Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan)

I gravitate naturally to statistics despite the negative feelings some people have about them. I think that information is the fuel that our world runs on and without it our systems will sputter, stall, and shut down. That is because statistics are significant in decision making.

When I joined the Rotary Club of Nairobi East, Kenya, 19 years ago, I was told that good Rotarians were defined by the regularity of their attendance, the frequency of their gifts to The Rotary Foundation, and most importantly by their ability to introduce new members to the club.

In my quest to be a valuable member, I turned to statistics as a way to demonstrate the credibility of Rotary to family, friends, and neighborhood skeptics. I learned all the important stats by heart and would spit them out at the slightest provocation. If someone happened to notice my membership pin, they would get a barrage of information enough to weigh down even the strongest weightlifter.

A different way

Only a bolt of lightning would get my victims to wake up again by the time I was done talking. I thought I was promoting the club but instead I was boring them to death.

Looking back, it shouldn’t have been a surprise to me that my recruitment efforts led to naught. Not a single person that I targeted with my facts and figures joined the organization. Yet other members invited guests to our lunches every week, and these guests eventually joined our club within a month or two.

One day I got a call from a business journalist who wanted to discuss the results of a survey that my company had recently published. This was not unusual because in those days I worked for a research company and media executives regularly called me for insights and information.

The  Mequon-Thiensville Sunrise Rotary Club who sponsors the Homestead High School Interact Club is pleased to announce the 2019-2020 leadership team for the Homestead High School Interact Club.  Brenna Campbell is the President; and sharing the responsibilities of  the vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer are  Morgan Klug, Julie Kim and Grace Aceto. Congratulations Interactors!

Interact is a Rotary International's service club for young people ages 12 to 18 who come together to connect with others in their community or school and provide service.

There are twenty-one student members of the Homestead High School Interact Club. The members are very active and organize a variety of projects and activities that depend primarily on the interests of club members.  The first project for this year is “Trick or Treat for Hunger.” Interactors dress in their costume of choice will collect food and will donate collection to Family Sharing. Look out for these great Halloween creatures!

Working on projects provide important experience and opportunities for each .Interactor's personal development. Interactors develop a network of friendships, enhance leadership skills, serve their community, and expand international understanding. As club advisors,  Rotarians Lucia Francis, Connie Pukaite and Dave Schlageter provide support and guidance to the club.