Upcoming Strategic Planning Session
Marilyn Bedell provided an overview of our club's history of strategic planning and the plans for the upcoming session on March 22, 2023 from 4:30 PM to 8:30 PM at City Hall in the City Council Chamber.
The first step in strategic planning is called Visioning.
The visioning team is from our Rotary District.
- PDG ERIC DENU, Middlebury, is the team leader.
- He will be working with:
- DGE Susan Cherry – St Johnsbury
- PDG Richard Fox – Charlotte-Sherburne-Hinesburg (CSH)
- PDG Jamie Milne – St Johnsbury
Marilyn reminded us that that everyone who is helping us with this exercise is a Rotarian, just like you. They are VOLUNTEERING to help us. The visioning session that we did with a District team was in 2018. It was developed prior the Rotary’s new ACTION PLAN. The Team hasn’t done a strategic planning session since the onset of COVID. They have modified the visioning session to relate to the Rotary International’s Action Plan. It will be up to all of us, to let them guide us through the the process. It may not be perfect, but it will be up to us to make it relevant to our club.
Yogi Berra once said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up someplace else.”
Sean Peek, Business News Daily shared that:
- Vision statements are essential because they reveal a common goal and direction for your organization. You can craft a compelling vision statement by infusing it with passion, making it inspiring, and aligning it with your organization's values and goals.
- Vision statements describe your organization’s “why.”
- Mission statements describe the “who” and “what” of your organization.
Marilyn reviewed some club archives and found our vision statements from 2009 and 2018.
2009: Vision Statement – Our club of about 45 members, one of four in the Upper Valley, actively engages all club members in leadership opportunities and training and in the approximately twenty service projects we now undertake from speech contests to leading tri-annual clean ups of the Mascoma River. The club offers the opportunity for you to participate in these projects and to lead our club in providing service on projects you are passionate about. Our club is actively engaged in developing additional ways of providing more fellowship opportunities and more service to the Upper Valley community and internationally.
2018: Vision Statement – The Rotary Club of Lebanon will be a vibrant club as measured by having:
- A good mix of age and gender in membership,
- Excellent weekly programs,
- Meaningful local and international service projects,
- A strong financial base.
We will be known as the “go to” club for literacy and youth service. In addition, we will participate in international service projects in
Ghana, Haiti and El Salvador.
In 2018 we developed a mission statement too.
Our Mission Statement – We will be known as the “go to” club for literacy and youth service; and support of programs for drug and alcohol prevention and treatment. In addition, we will participate in international service projects in Ghana and El Salvador.
We developed a set of goals to achieve by 2021:
- Membership – 100 Members
- All members want to be of service
- Clean, concise club communications
- Create an annual ethics award and hold a vocational/career fair.
- Have classification talks.
- Support Listen.
- Develop our “String of Pearls”.
- Support literacy.
- Send Interact student Overseas.
- Partner with existing international service projects.
- Have interact clubs at LHS and MVRHS
- Establish a Rotaract Club at River Valley
- Start 2 Early Act Clubs in our grade schools.
- Start a Brew Fest
- Our fund raisers will net approx. $2,000 per member.
- Start a music Event.
- All members donate to the Rotary Foundation.
- Offer a free membership to a graphic designer under the age of 50 to support the club.
- Have an integrated PR plan, and a PR committee.
- Sing at meetings.
Despite not looking at our strategic planning document from 2018, we did accomplish many of our goals. Though our dreams of 100 members did not become a reality and is a concern for many of us.
Marilyn then went on to review Rotary Action Plan. Read about the action plan by clicking here and watch video posted at beginning of this newsletter.
When Marilyn asked Eric Denu to share a little about their plan for leading the session, he asked us to:
- Start thinking about how the Rotary Action Plan fit into Lebanon Rotary Clubs objectives?
In addition, he shared:
- The visioning session we will hold is just the first step in the process. It is to collectively gather information from the members to see what direction the Lebanon Rotary club should be working towards.
- The Vision session will focus on the areas of service (Club, Community, Vocational, International and Youth) and time will be spent on each but most likely, more time on club and community support.
- The visioning session we will hold is just the first step in the process. It is to collectively gather information from the members to see what direction the Lebanon Rotary club should be working towards.
- Keep in mind we are looking into the future and yet is OK to reflect back. We just shouldn’t get stuck in the past.
What should we be doing to:
- Increase our impact
- Expand our reach
- Engage our members and others in our projects
- How do we adapt to a changing environment?
- What should we be doing in each area of service?
- Club
- Community
- Vocational
- International
- Youth
- Rotary Foundation
At the end of the talk various members shared their thoughts about the importance of this session and why we hope many members will join us in person or virtually.
A lot of our post presentation conversation was talking about membership and engaging members in the work of the club.
Some additional information was sent via email to members after the meeting. Including an article about the 5 ingredients for a successful club. If you didn’t get the email, let Marilyn know.
