Fellow Toastmasters,
After a rather exhausting election year, I know the last thing you want to hear about politics. I know…I am sick of it too.
But, for all of the flaws of our political system, there is at least one thing we get right. Every year in January, we get to hear from the President about something we should all care about – the state of the nation.
When I took over as District Governor, I began to think about how you and I could work together to make this District better. As I thought about it, I realized that you and I cannot plan a different future unless we know where we currently are. You and I cannot change course, unless we know the current course we are on. You and I cannot talk about how to improve our District unless we know what is not working now.
Unlike the president, I don’t get an hour to explain to you where we are and where I think we are headed. Instead, I will give you the highlights and tell you where to find more information.
The number of clubs in Division A is concerning. We have seen a very linear decline in clubs from 2009 through 2014. If current trends continue, we will need to realign the Division as soon as 2016, as we considered last year.
Regarding the other Divisions – B, C, D, and E – the average members per club has remained relatively flat. Division B has shown a slight decrease, C has stayed about the same, and D and E have shown a slight increase. The number of clubs is relatively flat with Division C growing slightly.
Now the big question – so what?
This is one possible future. We can change and must this future. And that is what we are attempting to do with the District Success Plan. The Trio – Paul, Keith, and myself – looked at the forecast and said, “How can we better serve the district? Where can we spend the money we collect from our members to grow new clubs in Division A – and other Divisions – and strengthen the clubs we already have?” Growing clubs in our Divisions and strengthening our current clubs is what we are attempting to do with the District Success Plan and the District budget that we are posting on the website today. If you are looking for a quick view of the incentives this year, we are also positing a quick reference that you can share with your members. (Thanks to Area 34 Governor, Alana Svensen, for pulling that together for us).
The District Success Plan should not be a big secret to our members, so I want to make sure you have a chance to read it. The forecast, all appointed positions, and the incentives we have for this year. Please take some time to read over it. We will update the plan as we go through the year, so look for regular updates.
It wouldn’t be a Mark Latta report if I didn’t mention this – the whole purpose of the District Success Plan is to serve you – the members. It is our mission to make sure you get your $6 out of every month you are in Toastmasters. We are here to help and this is our plan on how we intend to help. Please let me know if you have questions or see additional opportunities to make sure that our membership is getting value out of the Toastmasters program.
And that, Fellow Toastmasters, is the state of the District.
Mark Latta, District Governor