I hope I am not a totally new name or face for you, having served most recently as the 2009-2010 Governor. Now my vision has to be a little wider, to encompass the Chesapeake and New Eng-land districts which, with Cardinal, comprise Region 4 of Civitan International.

In November, I participated in my first International Board meeting in Birming-ham. During the orientation for the new board members, we spent several hours at the Civitan International Research Center. I was very impressed with the young researchers I met and encourage each Cardinal Civitan to make sure your club is participating in Civitans at the Helm or the Breakthrough Golf tournament/Putt-n-Chip, as our dollars make possible their research.

As we look at this Civitan year, we have opportunities to increase our membership. At the November meeting, President Gay Aaron reported that the 2010-11 Pay It Forward team has an esptablished goal to charter a minimum of 50 clubs.

An added objective for the year is to increase emphasis on expansion through club growth by training 100 new Certified Club Builders. There is room for growth in the Cardinal District, so please work with Governor Teresa and the Development Team to Pay It Forward by building one or more new clubs.

As you think about your summer plans, please make sure the Civitan

International Convention is on the calendar. The Shera-ton New Orleans Hotel on Canal Street will host us from July 6th to the 9th at a special negotiated rate of $115.00 per night. This property is located between the French Quarter and the Warehouse & Arts District. A huge indoor mall is nearby and offers unique items indicative of the area. You will enjoy the tradi-tional musical entertainment that put this city on the map and the world-famous res-taurants and tours that bring visitors from around the world to this National Historic Landmark capital of the United States.

The convention registration fee has been approved at $220.00; the same amount as the last two years. Staff is working to negotiate dis-counted parking, including options in nearby locations. Beginning with the 2011 Convention, delegate name badges will be required for entry to every convention function, including general sessions, workshops, and meal-ticketed programs. International wants to ensure that the delegates paying their registration fees have adequate seating and can en-joy the programs that their registration fees cover.

If you have questions, com-ments, or concerns you would like to discuss with me, please contact me by phone or e-mail. My home number is (740) 698-3840 and my e-mail address is james@ohio.edu. Until the middle of March, I am teach-ing in Bangkok, Thailand, so an email is the best way to reach me.

In the service of Civitan,

Anita C. James

Long Term Planning for the Cardinal District

There is a tendency in Civitan, at all levels, for officers to think in one year increments. By the time the officer (president, governor, etc.) gets used to her or his job it is time for someone else to take over. There are many examples.

Consider one case in point, the International yearly themes: Pay it Forward, Civitan Rocks, Meeting the Challenge, Let’s Talk Civitan. Get used to one and figure out how to use it effectively and it is time for the next.

Long-term planning tries to get around this “one year orientation” by looking to the future. Civitan International has a long-term plan-ning process; few districts or clubs do. The old Ohio District had a requirement for the development of a Five-Year Plan but there is no such requirement for the Cardinal District. We need a long-term view if we are going to fulfill our mission.

For this reason, Governor Teresa has asked a small group to begin the development of a long- term plan for our district.

The beginning point in long-term planning is the mission statement for districts which is found in the Civitan International policy manual:

“The mission of Civitan districts and district officers is to promote the long term health and vitality of its clubs through implementing growth strategies for building new clubs and recruiting members into existing clubs, serving as a conduit of ideals between clubs and Civitan Interna-tional.”

The process we will follow consists of three parts:

1) establishing broad goals for the district;

2) specifying the goals (i.e., turn them into numeric, time-specific objectives);

3) determining who is to do what, by when, in order to move us toward achieving those objectives.

As a starting point, a committee reviewed relevant documents to identify the following as broad district goals:

• Increase individual club membership
• Increase the number of clubs in the district
• Insure the training of all officers in new club, as well as district officers
• Develop potential leadership talent in the district Improve public relations at both the club and district levels
• Develop relevant district meetings and alternatives to meetings Ensure the long-term financial health of the district
• Develop long term plans for the district on a consistent basis

At the district meeting in April, the board will reviewed these goals. The district meeting will also be a “called meeting” in order that all present may review and approve the goals. Following approval, there will be focus groups in the afternoon to develop the objectives, which will give us a specific statement of what each goal means.

This process will provide the board with specific measurable statements upon which to build action plans in order to achieve these objectives over the next few years.

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