One night after class, I was talking to two ladies and one asked me if I was a student (No, I work at a college), what was my major (public relations), and what my goals were (at the time, I thought I was headed into a life of fundraising and foundation work). That lady was Vera Gibbons. She asked me to lunch to see if I would be interested in helping her with this event I had heard of and attended called Rock'n Ribs. I accepted her invitation and it honestly completely changed my life.
I started helping Vera and her Rock'n Ribs partner Matt Sims with sponsorship for the event. Rock'n Ribs is a local BBQ competition and community event put on by Rotary Clubs of Springfield that benefits seven local charities in the Ozarks. My job was essentially to call upon Rotarians for small donations. I mean come on, is this not a job for me? BBQ and asking people for money seems like it is built for me.
After one year of asking Rotarians for money I realized, if I'm asking these people to commit their dollars, I should probably put my money where my mouth was and join the very organization raising these hundreds of thousands of dollars. So I joined Rotaract, which is Rotary for young professionals under the age of 30.
Through Rotaract I met countless friends, joined many more boards, continued to help with Rock'n Ribs and eventually, learned, I hated raising money. Okay, that is not entirely true. I like it. I am pretty decent at it. But I did realize that is not what I wanted to do with my career. So another lesson learned from this kickboxing class.
I continued to help out with sponsorship for Rock'n Ribs for about three years and then took a step back from sponsorship but continued to help out with the actual event.
In 2012, through Rotaract I learned of an amazing opportunity through Rotary called the Group Study Exchange. Actually where this blogging thing originated over on my blog May The Road Rise. I earned a spot on the 2013 GSE team to Central America and there I learned the actual mission of Rotary International. I finally got our credo, Service Above Self. I knew the Four Way Test, but I never got it until that trip. The Four Way Test is something we state before every Rotary meeting. We pride ourselves in memorizing (I even memorized it in Spanish). It is our guiding ethical principles. It goes like this:
Rotarians, of the things we think, say, or do, we must ask ourselves:
- Is it the truth?
- Is it fair to all concerned?
- Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
- Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
My GSE trip happened during Rock'n Ribs 2013. So I did not participate in anyway with the event that year. In 2014, Vera extended an invitation to help her out with the big dinner we throw for all of our $10,000+ sponsors. It is the most fun of Rock'n Ribs. It was planning the party with one of the most fun people I know, so of course I accepted. No raising of dollars. No big commitment. Just celebrating those in our community who give so much to make Rock'n Ribs happen and allow us to give so much to our charities.
In 2015, Vera stepped down and guess who was left? Me. I struggled with the decision to take on the Rock'n Ribs Sponsorship Dinner. Vera left the largest shoes in the world to fill. She made this event. She made the whole event what it is. She is so amazing. But I was assured by her partner-in-crime Matt that I would have help and they would assist me every step of the way. And boy did they ever. I would have never been able to pull off such an awesome event with such good ideas without Matt and all of our sponsors. And it was a ton of fun. I got to see so many great friends who I first met by asking them for money. I got to spend so much time with Vera and Matt and their families. It was an absolute blast.
And as for the actual event of Rock'n Ribs, we had one heck of a weekend. The numbers haven't came in, but I am positive it will be one of our best ever, likely raising over $150,000 in two days for organizations in the Ozarks.
So, it seems very fitting, that today at our Rotary meeting, the Tuesday after Rock'n Ribs weekend, I was awarded my Blue Badge. For the past year, since I officially transitioned to Rotary from Rotaract, I wore a Red Badge until I fulfilled all of my new member obligations.
A kickboxing class led me to Rock'n Ribs, Rock'n Ribs led me to Rotary, and Rotary has changed my life and will always be a part of my life.
Without all of this I would have never met some of my best friends, I would have never traveled the world, I would have never had the opportunities in my career or in the community, and most importantly, I would have never become who you all know as Kim Greene.
