Ideas in Motion Media Puts Their Ideas in Motion with the Rotary

Strongbow Inn was filled with people on Monday morning for the weekly Valparaiso Rotary Club meeting. Not only was this an interesting experience, it was a learning experience. Rotary is an organization that is involved on a global scale. It deals in humanitarian efforts, providing services to those that need them, promoting goodwill and peace and encouraging and upholding the only the highest of ethical standards.

The group is made up of prominent business men and women, community leaders, students, religious leaders, and anyone who wishes to make a positive difference. They help to address community needs, develop leadership skills, promote family service efforts, and create and maintain connection within an international network. Rotary is nonreligious, nonpolitical and open to all cultures and races. Their motto is, “Service Above Self”.

This fits the our mission at Ideas in Motion Media pretty well as we only promote good news and we are actively involved in the communities of Northwest Indiana. So we were very excited that our Publisher and CEO, Chris Mahlmann was invited to present at the meeting and we got to spend the morning with people who shared the same ideals and outlooks as us. And the feeling was mutual.

“Chris does an excellent job. I love the fact that he gives good news and doesn’t trade on all the bad. Instead he trades on all the good,” Ron Bush, President of the Valparaiso Rotary Club, said. “That’s refreshing and surprising. I’m glad he’s here today.”

Bush went on to say that there is a lot of fellowship and camaraderie that takes place at a rotary meeting. Each week there is a different speaker to give insight on what’s happening with their business or within the community.

The meeting was started off with a wonderful lunch that was provided by Strongbow Inn’s talented kitchen and bakery staff. Following that was the singing of the National Anthem, the Pledge of Allegiance and an invocation. Jonathan Nalli, CEO of Porter Regional Hospital was the Sergeant-at-Arms and he led everyone in the announcing of birthdays, anniversaries and the sharing of personal and positive news that any Rotarian might have. Then it was time for Mahlmann to speak.

He shared the origins of the company as it started as just an idea that grew into an incredible reality -The start up company that was made up of four people that worked tirelessly above his garage that transformed into the 30 full-time and part-time employees that are making things happen all over the region. He spoke of the community outreach that we do, the good news that we share, the events that we cover, and the positive impact that we are having on an area that keeps growing and expanding.

“I'm a storyteller, and that is really what Life is all about,” Mahlmann said. “We are not a tech company, immersed in the programming of websites or search engine marketing, nor are we social media experts if there is such a thing. We are a media and communications company that is built obsessively around one single premise: make people doing good things front page news…The technology will always evolve, while the premise remains the brick and mortar that our Life is all about: Positively impacting the lives of the communities that we serve by highlighting what is good in the world around them.”

Mahlmann touched on the past, present and then the future of Ideas in Motion Media. Our fourth and newest site, NWIndiana.com, will be officially launching on August first, and he explained the impact that will be had on the area that it will encompass, which is the Lake County area.

The meeting ended with the repeating of The Four-Way Test. This is something that Rotarians take very seriously as the motto, which I mentioned before, is applied to their daily lives. Of the things that they think say or do, they must ask: 1. Is it the truth? 2. Is it fair to all concerned? 3. Will it build good will and better friendships? 4. Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

When this test is applied to the mission that we uphold at Ideas in Motion Media, the answers to all four of these questions is a definite, “Yes.”

Thank you to the Valparaiso Rotary Club for inviting us to share our good news.

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