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Strategic Plan

View the Strategic Plan (PDF)

During the spring of 2002, the Oregon Volunteer Firefighters Association (OVFA) Board of Directors reviewed the status of the Association. After discussing past sessions in which attempts were made to create a foundation for a planning process, the Board reached a decision to complete an official OVFA Strategic Plan before the 2003 annual conference. 4M Consulting was selected to conduct the process starting with the first workshop in Florence, Oregon, in July of 2002. In June of 2002, Michael B. Sherman of 4M Consulting began the research on what would become the 2003 Oregon Volunteer Firefighters Association Strategic Plan.

Sherman worked with the OVFA Board to confirm a strategic planning team that represented the major groups within the Association. This team worked closely with the consultant to develop input for a dynamic and valuable planning process. The process selected included an introduction, a definition-of-terms; a history of the Association; the documentation of customers and their needs; the documention of the Association functions and services; the review of the OVFA mission, vision, and corporate values; a thorough strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges review; establishing assumptions, alternatives, and future issues; conducting goal solicitation and prioritization; establishing objectives and action items; and conducting a public presentation of the final 2003 Oregon Volunteer Firefighters Association Strategic Plan on June 13, 2003, at the annual OVFA Conference.

This planning effort has produced an excellent document for the future of OVFA membership. The OVFA membership need to support the planning team members' efforts through the implementation of the plan. High-powered accomplishment within an organization is not easy. The team members need to be diligent in the completion of their selected action items. The strategic plan should be on the agenda of every OVFA Board meeting. Progress on action items should be clearly reported to the membership in a timely manner with any changes necessary to successfully implement the plan being communicated clearly at all levels of the organization.

The development of this strategic plan represents an enormous amount of effort and commitment on the part of those involved. The future work that is mapped out in this plan will take continued momentum. The greatest value of this type of strategic planning process is the atmosphere of excellence that can transform an organization. OVFA is well on its way to creating that environment of excellence for the future of its membership. This document will be a tremendous tool in accomplishing the Association's mission over the next five to ten years.