Opportunities and Challenges
 
The District Governor team, consisting of the current District Governor, District Governor Elect and District Governor Nominee, were united in their belief that development and implementation of a District-level, multi-year strategic plan would enable us to better serve the clubs and strengthen Rotary in our District. 
 
•             Membership in our District, as in most of North America, was shrinking.  Beyond that, the median age of our membership had increased significantly.  It was imperative to reverse these trends to keep Rotary strong and viable in the future.  Subsequently, we chose Membership as a primary focus of our visioning/planning effort.
 
•             We believed that Rotary was and is an incredible force for good in our communities and in the world.  When we looked at what our clubs were accomplishing, we felt Rotary could sell itself to new members once we shared its message of service to others. Many clubs lacked the skills to embark on their own formal plan for PR.  In our communities, we felt Rotary was often misunderstood by the general public.   The District was well positioned to promote its Rotary clubs and to provide appropriate resources to help the clubs promote themselves. For these reasons, we chose Public Image as another primary focus area of our visioning/planning effort.
 
•             For Rotary to succeed and grow, we knew we needed to identify and develop strong leaders who would be willing and able to serve not only their own clubs but also at the District level.  Some clubs were having success filling leadership roles while others struggled to fill key leadership positions necessary for their success and growth. For this reason, we chose Leadership Development and Succession Planning as the third primary focus areas of our visioning/planning effort.
 
•             We also felt the District was uniquely positioned to share best practices among the clubs, to provide training and blueprints for different roles and committees, and to act as a clearinghouse of ideas that might benefit our clubs. We felt that clubs, working together, could share information, help each other grow, create partnerships and become stronger. For these reasons, we chose Inter-Club Collaboration as the final focus area of our visioning/planning effort.