Each year Rotary clubs install new officers on July 1, led by a new club president. This can be a daunting task for nearly any Rotarian. Few have held comparable responsibilities leading volunteers before. In relatively few cases does the new president's vocational experience prepare them for this new role. Rotary International has recognized the need for intensive training for the new president, and requires that the person selected, during their president-elect year, attend both a President Elect Training Seminar and the District Assembly.

In many parts of the world the President Elect Training Seminar (PETS) is held on a district by district basis. For many years, however, districts have banded together to operate multi-district PETS. These combined events allow many economies of scale in expenses while making it possible to select the highest quality instructors and to attract excellent speakers.

Our district has participated in Far West PETS, one of the premier PETS in the world, for over two decades. This excellent seminar is held annually in March in San Jose, CA. Participation is by invitation only, with registration starting in Mid-October.

In addition to the presidents elect, other attendees from the district include Assistant Governors, District Governor, District Governor Elect, District Governor Nominee, and PETS staff members.

Far West PETS serves 9 districts:

• 5000 Hawaii

• 5130 Northern California Coast

• 5150 San Francisco Peninsula and Marin

• 5160 Central Northern California

• 5170 East and South Bay

• 5180 Sacramento and north

• 5190 Eastern Northern CA and Northern Nevada

• 5220 Central Valley and Mother Lode

• 5230 Fresno and the Central Coast

The event typically has over 430 presidents-elect, 80 assistant governors and a total of about 650 attendees. Starting mid-day on Friday, it continues nearly non-stop until noon on Sunday.

Click Here to visit the Far West PETS website