District Governor Kevin Crouse, December 2013

DG Kevin’s December Message

The Power of Goal Setting

“A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination, but when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, you have something very special.” Nelson Mandela’s words inspire us all to use our powers of communication to get the job done in our Rotary world.  Unfortunately, we have underused one of the most powerful tools at our disposal when it comes to setting goals for our clubs. At this point only 37% of clubs in the district have set membership retention goals on Rotary Club Central, despite the fact that we are on a five year downward spiral of losing at least 80 members every year. The key to retaining members is developing a plan that engages all members in meaningful Rotary endeavours and yet, only 20% of our clubs have set engagement or communication goals this year.  The outlook is even bleaker for service projects or new generations’ goals. Only 10% of clubs have set goals in these areas this year. That is the picture we are getting from Rotary Club Central according to Foundation Director Karen Oakes. Perhaps the real figures are not posted on this vehicle, but RI President Ron Burton has recently encouraged all clubs to use this tool to make clubs more vibrant and proactive. In fact, a special award will be given to ANY club this year THAT LISTS AT LEAST 15 GOALS on Club Central by May 30.

One of the simplest ways to get your club goal-oriented is to build programs that help the club achieve special awards like the Presidential Citation, The Lighthouse Award, The Head, Hands and Heart Award, the Membership awards, EREY, and the Retention Awards. Details on these awards can be found on the district website www.rotary7090.org. These awards will be presented at the special Awards Ceremony on June 22 at the DG Changeover at Templeton Landing in Buffalo. Now is the time to develop awareness of these awards with your members.

Welland Rotarians Fred Farnham and Ray Tisi

We need to remember that RI President Burton encouraged all of us to develop roles that make our clubs, the community, and the world-at-large better places to be. We can best do that by using our special skill sets to create outstanding programs that improve lives. A great example of that occurred at the Rotary Club of Welland on December 17 when two outstanding Rotarians, Fred Farnham and Ray Tisi received their Head, Hands and Heart awards. Fred has been an outstanding supporter of RYLA and SLAPSHOT programs for at least 15 years and his ability to connect with youth despite his 85 years is an outstanding asset to both programs. Ray Tisi’s accounting skills as treasurer of the Youth Exchange Corporation have contributed immensely to the success of our Youth Exchange programs over the years. His ability to keep us on track with the legal requirements of this international program is nothing short of outstanding.

So, if we are to continue to make the world a better place, we need to continue to set meaningful goals that build on our club strengths and our members’ skill sets. Let’s all celebrate this festive season by considering how we best can make Rotary an even stronger force for good in our world.

Yours in Rotary Service,

Kevin Crouse

District Governor