An old friend of mine used to say, "If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there." He was a crusty old character who didn't have much tolerance for decision making that lacked clear objectives and purpose. And so it is with most of us. We find things in life that drive us to work hard and make a difference. But we also need to chart our destination, and the roadmap that will get us there.
The same is true for organizations like Ducks Unlimited, Inc. Our vision and mission have been clear for 74 years, and the passion of our volunteers and staff illustrates their commitment to the ideal of "adequate wetlands to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever." But as an organization, our annual plans must describe the incremental progress we expect to make, the respective role each of us will play, and a clear strategy for reaching our goals.
Under the leadership of First Vice President John Newman and Wetlands America Trust (WAT) President John Childs, we are presently engaged in building Ducks Unlimited's strategic plan for the next five years. This single plan will guide our ongoing activities, ensuring that all parts of DU are working together toward the same objectives.
The planning team, in addition to Newman and Childs, consists of senior volunteers, including DU Chairman of the Board Bruce Lewis; President John Pope; Treasurer Bob Hester; DUMAC President John Tomke; DU board member George Dunklin; WAT trustees Bill D'Alonzo, Kevin Albert, and Deke Welles; and senior staff, including Executive Secretary Dan Thiel, Great Plains Director of Operations Steve Adair, and me. We have also invited DU Canada CEO Jeff Nelson and Vice President Tom Worden to sit in on our discussions. This rich mixture of volunteers and staff will, I believe, help to ensure both creative thinking and a commitment to crafting a plan that will truly guide us as we move our company forward.
Strategic plans identify who we are and what we cherish—our values. They indicate large objectives and begin the process of identifying challenges on the horizon. This is what we are committed to achieving with DU's strategic plan, which we hope to complete this spring.
But this isn't all that must be done. After the strategic plan is finished, we will begin drawing up implementation plans that will help us make decisions on exactly how we will go about reaching our goals. One of the greatest challenges in planning is staying on target with an accepted process. While the urge to dive into the "how" part of planning—the implementation part—occurs at almost every stage, the planning team is committed to building DU's strategic framework one brick at a time, so the foundation will endure.
Many of you have been involved in sharing ideas and suggestions with planning team members, and I encourage you to continue doing so. But far more assistance will be needed as we complete the strategic plan and begin writing implementation plans that identify specific approaches for the various components of DU's business. We will begin that process in earnest later this year. In the meantime, your planning team is working hard to lay the foundation for an innovative and prosperous Ducks Unlimited as we position ourselves for the future. I truly believe that our best days are ahead of us, and Team DU will embrace this effort with the professionalism and dedication that have always been our hallmark.