As my brief reprisal on the
Chapter Board nears an end, I can honestly say that there will be no
noticeable difference in the Chapter. For the first time in quite a long
time the Chapter Board is not struggling to fill key slots on the
Board. Under Nicole's leadership, the Chapter has returned to basics.
Instead of relying on the usual suspect firms to volunteer people to be
on the Board, she has worked to divide the workload and to coordinate
such that people are volunteering to do what they enjoy. Doing work you
enjoy is so much more fun than work you don't, especially when you are
not getting paid for it.
Don't get me wrong, despite
the return to old fashion individual reliance does not mean the Chapter
Board has forgotten the support that the firms and agencies put into
keeping the Chapter going. That is why you will see that the annual
sponsor recognition event will continue this winter, and you will
probably receive a phone call early next spring asking if your firm or
agency would like to be a sponsor to the LA Chapter Advanced CEQA
workshop. What it should mean is that there will be less turnover over
on the Board and better consistency in the quality of events.
So despite the fact that,
or maybe because, I am stepping down from the Board, you should feel
empowered to sign up to become a member of the Board. Don't wait until
someone calls you or volunteers you, nominate yourself to do a job you
enjoy that can help the Chapter expand programs, create student chapters
and internships, and ensure that we can host both series of CEQA
workshops in LA every year. Public radio always compares their donations
to the cost of a daily Starbucks drink. I am asking you to consider
volunteering the time you spend in line waiting to order and receive,
and maybe to drink, your daily Starbucks to AEP. We're not asking for
money, just your time.
So after the equivalent of
waiting for and drinking 264,328 Frapachinos I want to thank everyone
on the current Board, and I look forward to seeing you all as a simple
participant at a Chapter event soon.
Dwight
