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City Notes: We’re looking for a few good board members

Mark Wicks
Mark Wicks
Mark Wicks, Community Development Director, Charles City

July is nomination month for the Charles City Area Chamber of Commerce — as in nominations accepted for potential new members of the Chamber board of directors.

Our fiscal year begins Oct. 1, and there are always at least three seats on the board that come open for election by the membership under the staggered-term arrangement. Any employee of a Chamber member in good standing is eligible to be nominated.

This time around the terms of Michael Brown, Michael Holdren and Brad Sloter will be up. Eric Miller will also be stepping down after serving an extra year as our past president. Our current board president, Brad, will assume the past president’s role after Sept. 30.

On behalf of the Chamber I would like to give a big public shout-out to both Brad and Eric for their community service and leadership, as well as to Michael Holdren who has served as the Chamber’s treasurer the last three years. We are very appreciative of all that you have done for the Chamber and for Charles City.

As for Michael Brown, a staff member of First Citizens Bank, he is actually eligible to serve three more years because he was appointed to fill out a previous board member’s unexpired term. Michael B. has been heavily involved in both Chamber and Community Revitalization activities, and his name will appear with the other nominees on the voting ballot that will go out to the Chamber membership in August.

The top three vote-getters, if willing to serve, will be your new Chamber board representatives.

What makes for a good board member? A desire to help or give back to the community and a commitment of at least two hours a month, for starters. Good board members participate in the discussion and provide input and ideas.

They help establish a vision, mission and plan for the future for the organization. They become thoroughly informed on policies, programs and activities of the organization. They make policy decisions and ensure the program’s financial well-being. They govern, but don’t micro-manage.

They respect the opinions of others and the need at times to maintain a level of confidentiality. They participate not only at the board level, but also at the committee level and support the program’s events and activities through their attendance. And they support the board’s decisions once made, whether they voted that way or not. Majority rules.

The key word in all of that is “participate.” Good board members – no matter what group or organization is involved — do more than just show up once a month and fill chairs for an hour. They participate. They are involved. They make a difference. After all, isn’t that why people agree to serve on boards and committees in the first place, to give back to their community and help make a difference? If not, it should be.

You don’t have to know all of the ins and outs of everything in order to be a good board or committee member. Or a volunteer, for that matter. You just have to have a willingness to participate, to listen and learn.

Don’t be afraid to speak up, to share your opinions and insights, or to make a few mistakes along the way. Nobody is perfect, and we’re not all going to agree all of the time. We need a diverse set of views and ideas to come up with the best possible decisions, then work together to make something good happen.

To make a difference.

A good board can do that. It all starts, though, with individuals who are willing to step up to the plate, who are willing to serve for the greater good. You may be a natural born leader, or you may be that quiet, shy person who hasn’t realized their potential yet or all that they could do … but you are willing to show up and participate. That’s the most important thing. Give it a try. You will never know what you might become or get out of it until you do.

The deadline for Chamber board nominations is 5 p.m. July 28, so think it over quickly!

Speaking of boards and committees, the Community Revitalization program is also looking at filling a number of seats being vacated at the end of September. Unlike the Chamber which has dues-paying members who all vote in their board representatives, Community Revite’s board and committees appoint their new members.

If you have interest in getting involved and participating more in your community, please contact me and let’s talk.

For more information on either the Chamber of Commerce or Community Revitalization, call 641-228-4234 or 641-228-2335; e-mail info@charlescitychamber.com; or stop in at 401 North Main St.

I leave you with some excerpts from a publication I came across entitled, “The Good Board.” This could – and should — apply to any board, committee or group you are involved in:

The Good Board

• It inspires and leads.

• It recognizes the need for devoted and energetic staff.

• It consults with and advises, supervises and encourages that staff.

• It identifies priority needs.

• It strives for cooperation.

• It encourages experimentation to find better ways to achieve its goals.

• It establishes an orderly procedure.

• It searches out sources of information and guidance.

• It organizes itself for optimum production.

• It selects officers with care.

• Everyone participates.

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