Pictured above is the Visioning Team
By Aileen Dugan, Co-Chair District Vision Committee, PP Portsmouth RC
For more information, contact Aileen by email or phone 603-502-4005
On Saturday, April 1, 29 members of the South Portland Cape Elizabeth Rotary Club attended the first District-sponsored club Vision event, post covid. Members of the District Vision team included PDG Dick Hall of the Portland Rotary Club, PP Aileen Dugan of Portsmouth Rotary Cub and Co-Chair of the District Vision Committee, PP Cleo Villaflores of the Portsmouth Rotary Club, and PP Michele Bois-Gilbody of the Freeport Rotary Club and District Trainer. The team remarked the SPCE was one of the best clubs they have ever facilitated. Members were enthusiastic and eager to collaborate with each other and they brought a high level of energy to the event. The ideas shared were excellent.
Those involved shared a favorable impression of the event, commenting that it was “honestly better than anticipated." They felt it was very worthwhile to hear from all club members equally, learn of their passions, and enjoy the discussions that came from the ideas shared. Post Covid, it also brought a lot of members together to check in and learn about each other.
If you don’t know much about the process, here’s a brief rundown: our Rotary District 7780 has a District-level Committee of professionally trained facilitators that works to guide clubs through a process called Visioning. This process leads to developing a long-term strategy for Club health and growth, called Vision to Plan.
If your club could benefit from a cohesive plan that you create through your input and ideas, the Vision Committee can send a team member to make a presentation to your board and then the club. This helps all involved to understand the process and steps and makes sure everyone is comfortable with what will be necessary from start to finish.
The overall process includes a pre-event electronic survey of the members to summarize where the club is currently in terms of programming, membership, leadership development, and the Five Avenues of Service. Club Leadership sets the time and place for the Vision event. It is typically held on a weekend morning or in the evening at 5:00 p.m. Sessions typically vary from three to four hours based on the size of the club and how much input is generated in various areas.
Participants will be asked to “think outside the box” and create “what if we did this” or “I would really like to see us do this” ideas, covering the next three years. Topics of discussion include membership, club size, club attributes, fundraising, community service, and more. All Club Rotarians are invited to participate, up to a maximum of 30 people. This is a crucial opportunity for current and future leadership teams to get on the same page and create long-term goals for the club together while hearing from a majority of the membership about their interests and priorities.
The top ideas and areas of focus that emerge from the session, as voted on by participants, are taken by the club and used to create short and long-term objectives and goals for the club. All ideas are captured and saved because some ideas may be suitable for implementation in the future. A Club Vision Champion is then selected by the club members or the leadership team to spearhead the planning and make sure follow-up and action items are addressed in a timely fashion by all Club members.
The finished product is a Club Statement of Purpose explaining who you are, and what you stand for in your community. This is shared with the entire club at a club assembly. Everyone can review the information and contribute to the specific goals and action steps that emerge from the workshop.
For more information, contact Aileen via email or by phone at 603-502-4005