Thank You Sandy! | Thank You Video

Sandy, you've tackled a lot of big issues at Charlotte Rotary, but it's the little things that we'll most remember about your tenure. The notes you've written to members having health issues, the calls you've made to those you notice being down or having difficulties finding resources that aren't there. Your sixth sense about when and how to help somebody out of a corner and stepping up to make a difference and doing it unselfishly. You're an extraordinary talent, Sandy Osborne, and we've all been the beneficiaries. You know, in Rotary Reflections during my year, many of the sayings I quoted made me think about you. Sayings like, things don't just happen, people make things happen. Member service is not a department. It's an attitude, and it takes months to get a member, seconds to lose one. And, you know, paraphrasing another of those sayings, Sandy, we may forget exactly what you said or you did, but we will never forget how you made us feel. And Sandy, you made us feel great. You are the Rotarian we all hope to be. We're proud to know you. And we really look forward to the next chapters you'll write, of which there will be many, and in which we all hope to play some part. And with that, thanks, Sandy. Really appreciate it.

Sandy, my friend, my very good friend, you are truly a jewel, and we are so lucky to have had you at, at the helm of our organization. You have taken care of us as if we were your Sunday's kindergarten class. You know us by name and you know many, many of our stories. I feel real sorry for the person who's got to follow in your footsteps. They have a major challenge coming. We love you, Sandy. We thank you for all that you have done for us, and I hope that you and I will remain friends for years to come. Now, before I sign off, I have one more thing to say. I would like to go on record as nominating Sandy Osmond as the next president of the Rotary Club of Charlotte.

I think it's, uh, it's pretty amazing. 19 years, almost 20 years Sandy's been with the club and done so much for us and Really been in a lot of ways, I think, a mother to the club. Certainly a mother to the presidents that she worked with, all 19 of us now. I have the unfortunate honor of being the president when she leaves, and it's a very difficult thing to get my head around because I don't know how we go on without her. She's irreplaceable. Well, you know, when I say that she's been like a mother to the club, Struck by the fact, you know, she's leaving at least in part to be able to spend a lot more time with her grandbabies. And I just, I think those grandchildren are so lucky because while we're losing her there, they're going to get her full-time. And I know she's going to love that and they're going to love her and we're going to miss her and hope that she'll come back and think of us as— think of the club as one of her grandchildren along the way. She's such a special lady, and we are sure going to miss her. We're going to miss you, Sandy.

Sandy Osborne's retiring from Rotary?

Wow.

Does Jerry know about this? But seriously, Sandy, it's what you've done with Rotary, the— how beloved you are by our club and how respected you are by the district. I mean, you just don't see that combination, at least in my experience. And so I thought about it for a minute. I said, well, you know, why is that? Why is Sandy so beloved by our club and why is she so respected by the district? And it comes down to a couple of things: how dedicated certainly you are to the club and how much you love the club and the members. But then from the district side, it's, you know, how knowledgeable you are. And so I thought about that a little bit more. I said, well, okay, so if you took Luther Moore and Mark Markanda and Sandy Osborne to play a little Rotary Jeopardy, no offense to Luther or Mark, but Sandy's going to win hands down. I mean, I've never met anybody that knows more about not just our club, but just Rotary in general. That's phenomenal, and it's going to be so missed. in our club and so missed in our district. But Sandy, again, we love you. I love you. When I was president, you helped me through any number of different things, but it's time for you to be at the lake. It's time for you to be with your grandkids. That's where you belong now, and I'm so happy that you're going to be able to be there.

Hi, Sandy! You recognize that? Sandy, you're the one person in probably the entire world who knows more about the workings of Rotary than anyone else, and I suspect many of us would agree with that. And I also know that every single president up until Jerry, perhaps now, has said to whoever asked them to step into that role Is Sandy going to be there next year? Because all of us would have said no if she had said she wasn't going to be there. So we're going to really miss you, and congratulations on your retirement. You're the best.

I really became impressed with Sandy when she said, Tony, you're going to be the new president next year, so you've got to go to this state convention. And I don't like conventions. I've been to them all my life, but there I am And she says, the most important thing is spend a lot of time in the hallways and at the marketplace making friends. That's what's really important. And that's what Rotary is all about. We're all in this together as service agents for our communities. And so first thing I learned was she's very wise. Next thing is she's very organized, as everybody will tell you, and she's calm, cool, and collected. I have never seen her frustrated over anything. About my second week on the job as president, a guy came up and he seemed to be very angry and he was complaining about this and complaining about that. I went to Sandy, I said, Sandy, so-and-so's really complaining about this, that, and the other. She says, oh, that's in his nature. He does that to every new president. She says, just tell him to come and see me, I'll take care of it. And that's the way she handles things. Sandy, I know you're going to have a great retirement. Just remember this: do what you want to do, control your own schedule. Speaking of that, I've got to get back to the fly fishing stream right now because I got some friends on there. They'll be catching more than I am. See you later.

So I distinctly remember times when I was traveling with Sandy during my presidency, and honestly, it was like traveling with a chief of staff. She knew everybody. She prompted me as to who they were, what they had done, why they were important to me, and what I needed to know about their background. I felt like a rock star traveling with her because she knew everybody, and she is going to be so missed. Sandy, I know I've got to find a way to find you in my life because I don't know that I can live without you. We're gonna miss you, girl.

The amazing thing about Sandy is that she gets a new boss every year. All right, so seriously, think about how many people could put up with getting a new boss every year. And believe me, I've known all these bosses, and all of them, including me, are very different and work in different ways. So, you know, she manages to adapt to each one of them and make it work, you know. When I think about when I was club president, I was probably overenthusiastic. I developed all kinds of new programs and processes, and I started more projects than I should have. Not as many as John Taber, but I started a lot. And when I think about how Sandy kind of seamlessly made all that change and all that craziness work, it's really a wonder. The other wonderful The talent Sandy has is the ability to let you know in an extremely diplomatic way that your great idea is maybe not so great after all. As a matter of fact, usually by the end of the conversation, you've decided for yourself that you probably need to go in another direction. Oh, we're certainly going to miss Sandy and her great talent of keeping all of the presidents in line and everything going despite the president.

For some reason, she liked us and was willing to come to work with us. And since then, she's been there a long time. Now, whether that's 15 years or 18 years or 20 years, I'm really not sure. She's always been there. And it's going to be a big thing for us to miss her when she actually walks out the door on her retirement date. Which right now is September 30th, 2020. I told her, September 30th of what year?

I do not envy the person who follows Sandy in this job because people will for years be saying, well, that's not how Sandy did it. When I was offered the opportunity to be the 2008-2009 president, I only had one question, and that is, is Sandy committed to stay executive secretary for the whole year? When the answer to that was yes, I said, I'm in. It's not just that Sandy is a member of the club or is the executive secretary of the club. She is the heart of the club.

Sandy, how can we ever, ever, ever thank you for everything you've done for our club? And I'll speak for myself. When I was president, I called on you for absolutely everything, and I know the other presidents did too. I would email you at God knows what late hour, and sure enough, I'd get an answer either then or first thing in the morning. You have been such a great, great— not only a great administrator, but a great friend to so many of us. I can't even imagine how this club is going to go forward without you. You have meant so much to so many of us. You went the extra mile all the time. You drove people to meetings and to doctor's appointments. You called to check on people who were sick or infirm. You were the first one there when something tragic happened and when something great happened.

Sandy, you have been a marvelous asset to the Charlotte Rotary Club for well over 20 years. You have been the heart and soul of this club, and those of us who have served as president know how important you've been. Because we've been there on the front lines with you. So I can only say thank you from the bottom of my heart. I want to thank you for one special event, which was our joint Rotary meeting that the Charlotte Rotary Club led in October of 2010. You did marvelous arrangements putting together this group for the Blake Hotel. We had David Murdoch, Dole Fu. Company billionaire as our speaker. This was a very successful event. Several hundred Rotarians from Mecklenburg County Rotary Clubs attended. Murdoch was well, well received as a speaker, and it was just a great event, and I attribute that to you, to your work. Even though I was at the top of the totem pole, you're up there with me. So just an illustration of how valuable you have been To, to this club, and I hope you're going to remain a member, and I hope I'll see you sometime at Rotary Club meetings.

Sandy, I'm excited for you that you're going to move on and do more fun things with your grandchildren and your handsome hubby. I know that Charlotte Rotary will never be the same. I don't know how presidents that follow us will be willing to serve in the role without you there. Many of us, whether we admit it or not, Couldn't have been successful without you. I'm so grateful for what you did for me, not only through Rotary and helping me plan a centennial celebration for our club, but also personally. And one of my favorite memories with you is when we were in Asheville for the annual meeting of Rotary in our state, and I had the most handsome date in the room, and you concurred. That date being Rick English, who is now 16, but still very, very proud of the Rotary medal that our club presented to him as a Paul Harris Fellow. So Sandy, have fun. Please come back and visit the club. And when I come back to Charlotte from Wilmington, I would definitely give you a call. Love you.

Sandy has succeeded in the roughly 19, 20 years that she has been in this job to change the name of the job from office manager to executive director. She has taken our insular Charlotte Rotary Club and made it a part of District 7680. The people in it— at Rotary International now know who we are. She has in fact changed the face of Charlotte Rotary. She is, in my view, the quintessential irreplaceable Rotarian of Charlotte Rotary in the last 2 decades, and I think she will be remembered long after we are all gone.

It is hard to imagine walking into a lunch meeting and Sandy not sitting there, usually on the left-hand side right beyond the door, with a big smile on her face And greeting you by name. I think she knows— well, I know she knows everybody's name, and with a big smile. Sandy, my buddy, thank you for what you have meant to our club. Thank you for what you have meant to me as a personal friend, and have a wonderful life.

Sandy is certainly a gem and a jewel. She's passionate, she's dedicated, she's hardworking, she's diligent. She's fun to work with. She's ethical. She's moral. Sometimes she has to be a psychologist. Sometimes she has to be a counselor. Sometimes she has to be a mediator. Sandy is all of that and has been one fine executive director for nearly 2 decades for Charlotte Rotary. She certainly models service above self. Sandy and I have had a lot of conversations about life. About love of life, about loss of life, about resiliency, and we are buddies for life. We are friends for life. Sandy and I are going to be friends for life. So hats off, Charlotte Rotary, hats off to Sandy. And as Marilyn Bowler once said, we got some really big shoes to fill when Sandy leaves us. Love you, Sandy. Spend a little more time with those grandkids. This is not goodbye. We'll just see you later and see you soon.

For those of you that don't know, Sandy is a rock star in the Rotary world. She's been to more PETS conferences than anyone in North Carolina except for the 4 founders. She has been to a dozen large club conferences across the country. and is one of their longest-serving members. She's been to international conferences, and it seems like every district conference she's asked to help in some way. She's coordinated presidential visits and helped me with a million-dollar dinner and many, many other things. As presidents, she makes each of us look great, and even though we think we're running the club during our year, You all know who's really running the club. Sandy, thank you. Enjoy your retirement, enjoy your grandchildren, and please come back and visit. We love you.

Sandy, we can't thank you enough for your service to Charlotte Rotary. You have been a remarkable component in the success of our club, and now 100 years old, over 100 years old. But a couple of things that kind of come to mind that I think are most important. As a past president, you may every president feel like you're their favorite. I know we're not, but your ability to warm the hearts of everybody who walks in that door makes a real difference in how we do our job. I think the second thing that I want to really kind of convey is you're a bit of a mind reader. So we had a tough year this past year where we didn't know how we're going to deal with the pandemic and how we'd readjust our club, yet you took it on yourself to make sure you work through the details of keeping our club together Getting our Zoom meetings set up, but importantly, doing the little things like reaching out to the hotel, encouraging us to find ways to support the service folks who work with our club and brought us our meals every day for, for a couple of decades. And those kind of things make a difference. You'll be missed, but you're still a member of our club, and we look forward to having you with us as many times you can get there and get away from those grandkids. So thank you so much, Sandy. We do really love you and really appreciate everything you've done for us.

Thank you.