The title says it all - I can't believe it is actually March 2010 already!
The health of our chapter president continues to decline. He did not make our January board meeting. He was having multiple equipment issues - the motor in his wheel chair died and a new computer he uses to communicate through head motion was proving difficult to master.
Our February board meeting was held via conference call due to the 1-2 punch blizzards that we encountered in early February. His and his wife's intention was to listen in, but I don't think he did that.
He was in attendance at the March meeting but I found that he is getting closer to his death. The apparatus that fits over his head with the wand to point to the touch screen to communicate is difficult and occassionally impossible for his to use. He has little control over any of his facial muscles and cannot manuever the wheelchair himself. His mind is as sharp as ever and he is able to laugh at a good joke, which he did several times during and following the meeting.
Email communication from the president has ended. He simply cannot use the head apparatus and computer to do more than communicate basic needs to his care givers and others. The chapter is essentially being run by others, but it is still running, so we should all feel good about that. Our 1st VP has finally woken up, seized the reigns and is helping maintain the staus quo. He ran the January, February and March meetings with the help of an agenda prepared by me. That was a bit of a control-freak thing on my part - there were items I wanted discussed,so I prepared the agenda to make sure they were on it!
Our 1st VP has also written the "President's Message" for the past several issues of our newsletter and has done a good job. His messages are short but funny and a bit formulaic, but that's ok. Membership needs to see something from an officer in each edition.
As a chapter, I fear that we are simply maintaining in a time when we need to be moving forward. We're not breaking any new ground, although I've spoken with the 1st VP about that. I told him to make sure he has goals, even if they are just big ideas, for his term of office. He can then task committees with making those goals a reality. He seems interested in growing membership, which is good. We continue to lose 1-2 members each month. Part of that is economy driven, but I think part is also that we may not be offering enough in the way of benefits to the members in return for their dues. We've got to find a way to strengthen that or at least get the message out about what benefits there are for membership.
Several of us "leaders at large" continue to worry about our 2nd VP. He missed March's meeting saying "I'm on vacation." I need to look back, I keep all the emails, but it seems he's used that excuse a tremendous about these past months. I intend to provide the 1st VP with data on the 2nd VP's attendance and excuses so that we can have a frank and open discussion with the 2nd VP about his committment to this organization. Prior to being elected 2nd VP, his attendance and dedication seemed strong. That's why we approached him about a leadership position. Since being elected, his attendance has been in the toilet.
