Jim Rohrer is the District 5450 Chair of Club Visioning and our speaker this week.   Jim spoke about the rise and fall of Sears.  A company that started as a side watch business by Richard Sears in 1866 became a stalwart in the retail business from the early 1900's through early 2000s.  It's 132-year history in American business with catalogs, real estate, and memorable brands kept it going, but recent generations have abandoned or entirely avoided Sears stores.  The company was an early innovator in U.S. retail, a godsend to heartland shoppers a century ago, and arguably a more dominant force in the retail industry than Amazon is today.  However, the giant wasn't able to adjust to the trends of Walmart, Kmart, and now Amazon that began to arise in the late 80's and early 90's.   Filing for bankruptcy in 2018 Sears' future is suspect.   He then discussed club visioning.    

 

What is Club Visioning?

Club Visioning is a four hour session held in an evening or Saturday morning to help a Club set goals that will define who they are in three years. There is a process whereby all members in attendance  are provided an opportunity to share their ideas. The result of the Vision is a consensus of the top 3 year goals in the areas Rotary Clubs function, increasing effectiveness in all avenues of service. Clubs later develop action plans to meet the goals/Vision. 

3 to 4 trained Vision Facilitators volunteer to conduct the 4 hr session. Given that the Facilitation Team is volunteering their time and traveling to visit your club, the Team has the latitude to reschedule should the participation criteria not be met. 

Who Should Participate?

The facilitation session is intended for all interested Rotarians in your Club—from your newest members to your most tenured, from the quietest members to the most outspoken. The breadth and depth of the facilitation exercise is optimized when club leaders (past, present and future) participate and should include the current Board. The number of participants is dependent on the size of your club.  The ideal number is 15 – 28. (Minimum 12; absolute maximum of 30) Ask participants to be on time and must plan to stay through the entire process. Larger clubs should plan to have 28-30 members attend. The facilitation team anticipates participants will come with an open mind, stay the entire session and be fully engaged in a productive, creative session to define the future of the Club.

What are the Outcomes of the Session?

There will be a consensus of what the Club goals are in all avenues of Service three years from now. You will have the information to develop a one line Statement of Purpose/motto/slogan for the Club. The process and follow-up action plans make for improved continuity, consensus, and consistency of focus within the Club. This results in easier recruitment of members and Club leaders as well as better membership retention.

 

Thanks Jim for the information and your time.  To learn more about Club Visioning click on link below.