Board and Chair Retreats

On the past two Saturdays, the JLCD's Board of Directors and Chairs for the 08-09 league year participated in educational trainings. We started the day with a fun ice breaker where we were surprised to learn about our favorite people and things. I personally learned that if you say "Bring it on" is your favorite movie, then you risk ridicule. It is indeed one of my favorites so I guess I deserve that:)

We were excited to have Dr. Linda Andrews-Crotwell teach us many new things. Our serious topics including learning about our individual personalities, how to communicate with others (harder than you may think), team work, conflict resolution, how to facilitate and plan meetings and league operations. Lunch, arranged by Marcy Hawk was brought in by one of our tenants, Picnics-to-Go.

Another important item we discussed was our "Member's Bill of Rights"

The Right to Be Respected
The Right to be Heard
The Right to Try, But Fail

Please remember these as we go forward in a new year!

ANGELS

I was invited to attend a meeting with Diane Manuel, Emily Graves, Christine Battista and representatives from Safe Children's Coalition (the agency responsible for implementing foster care until July 1 when Eckerd Youth Alternatives takes over). Eckerd Youth Alternatives was founded by Jack and Ruth Eckerd, who both recently passed away. Anyways, just FYI, Ruth was one of our members.

Don't worry, the people we met with will still be there--their employer will just change. It was a productive and passionate meeting. We discussed DIAD and other short term project needs. I know that Community ANGELS committee will put together a great plan for this upcoming year. The committee has been charges with implementing DIAD/DIAMs, short term projects and investigating a long-term project for our league. As you all know, and probably don't need a reminder, but community projects takes all of us to make successful!!!

Thanks for inviting me to tag along!!

1265 Bayshore Boulevard

You might recognize this title as the address of our "Headquarters", Scot Shop, Picnics-to-Go and the Hair Shadow. Ten years ago (approximately) league headquarters relocated from Clearwater to Dunedin with the purchase of this site. It is about 7,000 square feet and is located on the Pinellas Trail (behind us) and has great views of the water.

As with any other substantial physical asset, is is necessary to take care of our building. This takes a huge amount of effort on the part of a very few people. Over the past year, Georgine Brancato has worked tirelessly reviewing and updating our insurance (way more difficult than I could ever imagine), scheduling maintenance (a never-ending task), and getting the building painted and the carpet replaced. Georgine is transferring her responsibility to Gwin Londrigan, our current Finance VP, but has volunteered to help complete the monumental tasks that have been going on during the past few months. Please pass on your heartfelt thanks to Georgine!

The carpet is scheduled to be installed on Wednesday and the locks will be changed this Thursday. Because of all of the preparation required for paint and carpet, things are a little discombobulated (to say the least). If you are missing something, please be patient or check the storerooms.

We also need volunteers next Saturday afternoon to help organize and put things back together! Please let me know if you can make it. We'll meet around 3:00pm.

Taking care of our building is also a responsibility of all of those who enter. If you have meetings, please remember to TAKE OUT THE TRASH, turn down the AC, turn off the lights, and wipe down the tables.

Thanks for protecting our most important physical asset!!!!

Sweating to Make a Difference!

JLCD members participated in a "Done in a Day" (DIAD) to help build a playground in the Lake Belleview Community in Clearwater, Florida. This playground will help children in a disadvantaged community learn social skills, build self-esteem and get some exercise. The playground serves Belleair Elementary School, a Title 1 school which serves many foster children.

Marcy and Laura (Marcy's mother) Hawk, Michelle Anger, Christine Battista, Nola Johnson and Chloe Harriman came out to sweat (it was extremely hot) and perform several hours of manual labor! (If I missed you, thanks for coming and please let me know).

Councilmember Carlen Petersen was also there in her official capacity and dedicated the playground during the official ceremonies to Arturo Huerta-Cruz. Spc. Huerta-Cruz is Clearwater's fallen soldier who died serving his country in Iraq two months ago. The ceremonies were extremely emotional, and there was not a dry eye on site. His parents and other unit members were extremely thankful for the dedication in his honor, especially on Flag Day.

Thanks to everyone that participated in the first DIAD of the year. I hear Nola Johnson is working to get a formal "DIAD" application on our website. So, if you know any community organizations that would like our assistance and have projects or programs that benefit foster children, please direct them to the website~

As always, thanks again for spending your time helping to make our community a better place.

New Paint at Headquarters!!

Tonight, Georgine Brancato, Kelly Borota, Marcy Hawk, Nola and Bryce (Nola's son) Johnson, Bruce (my husband) and I met at Headquarter to take down photos, remove items from all surfaces to get ready for the painter coming tomorrow. So, if you need something, it is probably in the Children's room!! Thanks for all for coming out to help! You can always count on League member to help at the last minute. As Confucius say "Many Hands Make Light Work"!

DON'T FORGET TO COME OUT TO THE ROSS NORTON RECREATION COMPLEX TO HELP BUILD A PLAYGROUND ON SATURDAY!

New Board Holds First Meeting

On Monday night, the JLCD Board of Directors convened for its first meeting. I am often asked, "what exactly does the Board do and what are its responsibilities?". So, I thought I would take a few minutes and explain some basics.

First, Board members have certain fiduciary responsibilities or "duties"to JLCD. Duty of Care requires that officers act reasonably in respect to the management of JLCD's affairs. Duty of Loyalty prohibits Board members from using their position to further their own interests. And, Duty of Obedience requires that Board members ensure JLCD is following By-Laws and Procedures and adheres to applicable laws.

In addition to those duties, the Board also wears two hats (both white or Junior League red in our case): a management one (oversight of committees and councils) and a governance one (like providing strategic direction, ensuring financial sustainability, etc.)

Here are ten basic responsibilities of non-profit boards from http://www.boardsource.org/ to further explain.

1. Determine the organization's mission and purpose. It is the board's responsibility to create and review a statement of mission and purpose that articulates the organization's goals, means, and primary constituents served.

2. Select the chief executive.

3. Provide proper financial oversight. The board must approve the annual budget and ensure that proper financial controls are in place.

4. Ensure adequate resources. One of the board's foremost responsibilities is to secure adequate resources for the organization to fulfill its mission.

5. Ensure legal and ethical integrity and maintain accountability. The board is ultimately responsible for ensuring adherence to legal standards and ethical norms.

6. Ensure effective organizational planning. Boards must actively participate in an overall planning process and assist in implementing and monitoring the plan's goals.

7. Recruit and orient new board members and assess board performance. All boards have a responsibility to articulate prerequisites for candidates, orient new members, and periodically and comprehensively evaluate their own performance.

8. Enhance the organization's public standing. The board should clearly articulate the organization's mission, accomplishments, and goals to the public and garner support from the community.

9. Determine, monitor, and strengthen the organization's programs and services. The board's responsibility is to determine which programs are consistent with the organization's mission and to monitor their effectiveness.

10. Support the chief executive and assess his or her performance.

Oh, and we have fun too!!! If you have any questions or want to learn more, please do not hesitate to ask, and of course, Board meeting are open in case you want to stop by!!