OSC News from Pat Cetera, JDCCW OSC Chair,2009-
April, 2009
1. New Boards
Ø Election time is here and new boards are coming in for many of your parishes.
Now is the time to plan for next year. Find out what your members want. Do it
by telephone survey, by short questionnaires, or by bringing small groups together
for discussion. (If you go the small group route, wait til mid to late June when
all the graduations, First Communions and Spring Institutes are over and have a potluck
evening. Everyone likes to eat and when the pressure is off, more people may come
out. Sneak in the discussions by making sure to plant a facilitator at every table.
If your Council has the money, order in chicken and salads and then nobody will
even have to cook. Make it a free night and advertise it as a Get-
Ø Your new board needs to get to know one another. Plan an evening (or Saturday morning) of prayer and reflection together. Bringing in a facilitator always helps.
Ø Mentor your new board members and make sure that board members who have served before are brought up to date. Make sure that everyone has access to reports from last year and that your new members are partnered with experienced ones.
Ø Have a meeting (during down time in the summer) that focuses on orientation for new members and for experienced ones who are in new positions. Invite your moderator so that he/she gets to know all of your board members.
2. Goals and Aims
Ø Early summer is also the time to work on your aims and goals for the next year and beyond.
3. Relationships and Partnerships
Ø Begin to establish a relationship with whatever media outlets you will use (local newspapers, local cable outlets, owners of electronic billboards, etc.) Make sure they know who you are and who they will be dealing with.
Ø Begin to form partnerships with local businesses and organizations to share their news and yours.
4. Collaborating
Ø If you’re not already collaborating with other organizations within your parish, start now. You’re there to work together for the parish and community, not to compete.
5. Evaluating
Ø While you’re looking forward, don’t forget to look back, especially if your council isn’t prospering. Figure out how to do things differently. Bring in someone from the “outside” to help you. Remember that JDCCW has leadership trainers who could help with this. Call the JDCCW office to be put in touch with them.
Thought for the month:
A community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm. Henrik Ibsen