January: Vocational Service Month

January is Vocational Service Month, a time for Rotarians to celebrate both their own vocations and recognize the importance of vocation as a part of service—to one another and to humankind as a whole. Unfortunately, many Rotarians, especially new ones, don’t realize how central vocations are to Rotary, so I believe it’s worth taking a moment to share my thoughts.

As a discussion leader in various Rotary training programs, I often ask Rotarians: “What makes our organization unique?” Most respond with “service.” However, every service organization—including Kiwanis and Lions—also places service at the heart of their mission.

So, if everyone is doing service, where is the uniqueness?

For Rotary, it’s not just what we do—it’s how we do it.

Our guiding principle is that each Rotarian should apply their unique vocational skills and professional network in service to others. Paul Harris, Rotary’s founder, envisioned the organization as a way for members to support one another professionally while also using their skills to serve their communities.

As the Object of Rotary states:

“High ethical standards in business and professions, the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations, and the dignifying of each Rotarian’s occupation as an opportunity to serve society.”

Our vocations gain dignity when we use them to serve others. No other organization has this as a core part of its mission, and January is our opportunity to celebrate this unique aspect of Rotary.

How Can We Put Vocational Service into Practice?

Beyond celebration, how do we put vocational service into action? And more specifically, how does RAGCED do it?

One of the ways we do this is through our CADRE of Technical Advisors (CADRE for short). CADRE members are Rotarians recognized by The Rotary Foundation for their vocational expertise in executing and managing global and district grants—helping each grant become more impactful.

I encourage you to explore the CADRE website to learn more.

RAGCED’s CADRE Leadership

RAGCED has nearly 50 CADRE members focused on Community Economic Development. The group is led by:
🔹 Nilam Bedi (Toronto, Canada) – Chief Technical Officer
🔹 Wally Gardiner – Incoming RAGCED President & CADRE Member

These Rotarians can help you with your projects! If you need advice or guidance on your next steps, reach out to us.

📌 Contact our Operations Committee: PDG Nick Frankle (Past RAGCED President) is the head of operations. Once he understands your project, he may recommend a CADRE expert to assist you.

📌 Know what help you need? Contact Nilam Bedi, our Chief Technical Officer, for specialized support.

What Vocational Skills Are Needed?

✔ Engineering
✔ Law
✔ Accounting
✔ Banking & Finance
✔ Business Management
✔ IT & Cybersecurity
✔ Leadership Development
✔ And many more!

Even if your field does not directly align with Community Economic Development, your skills can likely be applied to one of the Six Areas of Focus.

What do Cadre members do? Here's a quick summary:

✅ Consultants who offer clubs and districts guidance on:

• Understanding Rotary’s areas of focus
• Designing community assessments
• Considering cultural and environmental factors
• Planning and implementing projects
• Evaluating a project’s technical feasibility
• Incorporating elements of sustainability
• Develop monitoring and evaluation plans
• Using strong financial management practices
• Navigating the global grant application process

✅ Evaluators appointed by The Rotary Foundation to:

• Review applications for Foundation funding
• Conduct site visits to evaluate the quality, sustainability, and management of approved activities funded by the Foundation through global grants, district grants, corporate social responsibility grants, disaster response grants, Programs of Scale, the Rotary Healthy Communities Challenge, and other initiatives and partnerships
• Oversee how Foundation funds are spent through financial reviews and audits
• Make recommendations to help Rotary staff members and Trustees make informed decisions about programs
• Offer guidance to project sponsors on how to address any challenges and make changes to have a larger impact

✅ Learning facilitators at grant management seminars, club meetings, Rotary institutes, district conferences, and other Rotary events that involve topics in which we have expertise.

An Additional Benefit:

Your Cadre membership in RAGCED is at no charge.

Of course, you don’t need to be a CADRE member to make a difference in the projects your club does. If you’re in Rotary, your vocational skills can be helpful both to your club and the projects on which your club works. Put your skills to use to help others. After all, as the Object of Rotary says, your vocation is dignified when it is put to use in the service of others.