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Dear CWF Sisters,
Member-Driven Organization is a term that keeps coming to my mind these past few months as I live and breathe the activities of Coastal Women’s Forum while serving as President of this amazing organization of women. Here’s why:
CWF is an organization that is led solely by its members.
CWF is an organization that exists solely for the benefit of its members.
While over the years, we have, as an organization, reached out in service beyond our members—most notably with our scholarship program and our annual President’s Charity—our focus continues to be aligned with the organization’s original mission to offer encouragement along with educational and networking opportunities for our members. This was a daring choice for the working women who founded the organization back in 1988—a choice to serve themselves, to empower themselves, and to encourage their CWF sisters to do the same. It was an important choice that continues to benefit its members today.
At meetings and in our newsletters, I have spoken of the many member benefits of our organization. Today, I want to focus on the contributions that have, over the past thirty-five years, made those benefits possible. Contributions of ideas, efforts, resources, and time provided by—you guessed it—our members.
Since its inception, CWF has been led by a volunteer board of directors. Over the years, those positions have changed as the organization evolved. Today, our board is comprised of fifteen positions. In addition, we have developed two standing board committees (Special Events and Programming) and are looking to add a third to assist with the many aspects of Membership. This year, we also have an ad hoc committee to coordinate CWF’s 35th Celebration Event.
I want to take a moment to thank all the members who have contributed to the board and/or board committees this year:
Beth Atkins, Katie Coyle, Ann Marie Devanney, Anna DiNisio, Michele Douglas, Lisa Esposito, Lois Flemming, Bev Horvath, Christina Howerin, Linda Jarvis, Diane Jones, Barb Krcmar, Terris Lovelle, Debby Lutz, Kelly Michaud, Triste Minton, Taylor Paramore, Deserae Potter, Katy Pugh, Bonita Simmons, Heather Thornburg, and Leigh Wilkinson
I don’t believe it is by chance that when put in alphabetical order, the list above begins and ends with CWF charter members Beth Atkins and Leigh Wilkinson, who thirty-five years after they helped get CWF started, continue to contribute to the well being of the organization, today! That is the epitome of a healthy member-driven organization. We need every member to, at some point or points during their membership journey, contribute their time and effort to the running of the organization.
To all those who, over the past thirty-five years, have contributed to that effort—THANK YOU! You are the reason we are all benefitting from CWF today.
This year’s board and committee members are working diligently to continue to provide interesting and engaging educational and networking opportunities to our members in an encouraging and empowering environment, and we’d love to have more members join us in those efforts.
If you have been a member for a while, assisting the board in a small or big way is a great way to give back to CWF. So, if you are interested and willing to offer your skills, talents, and time to the organization, please know that you don't have to wait to be asked! This is your organization! Feel free to speak to one of our board members at a meeting, send an email to [email protected], or call me at 781-354-8236.
If you are a new member, assisting the board in a small or big way is a great way to get your name out there, meet more CWF sisters, and build deeper connections. If you are interested and willing to offer your skills, talents, and time to the organization, please know that you do not need to wait until you are asked. This is your organization! Feel free to speak to one of our board members at a meeting, send an email to [email protected], or call me at 781-354-8236.
Thank you for taking the time to read my message and considering how you can contribute to this fabulous member-driven organization we all love! I hope to see you soon!
Take care,
Beth
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