National Awards Package Revamped

By Marci Brisbourne
Director Member Services
   

By now, all clubs should have received from their National Vice President the revamped National Awards package.

From the invaluable input of our membership and after many, many meetings by the Awards Committee, we were given the green light by our National President to implement a new package for this year.  The entire package - scorecard for the judges, pointers, etc - will be posted to MCS by May 1st.  In the meantime, please review, and feel free to ask questions or direct comments to any of the committee members (Mary Kutarna, Gary Nakamura, Val Rankin and Sandy Tufts).  I won’t be so bold as to say that the awards package is now complete - it should always be moving forward to serve the needs of our membership and the goals of Progress - but I sincerely hope that it meets some of the requests and ideas put forward by you, the members, since I stepped into the shoes of Director of Member Services some eighteen months ago.

Since our last National Board meeting, I have also been working on establishing a database of National Supply House items, plaques, badges, crests, etc. so that we have continuity in materials that represent Progress year after year, Region by Region.  I hope to have this in place in the next few months.

I also want to thank those clubs that responded to the second call for completion of the survey of the talents of our organization.  The resonating theme of our energies in service across the country is to “Children/Youth.”  Based on the categories identified by the National Board for consideration in the survey, the results of the eighteen reporting clubs were (percentage of clubs participating in that category of service):

• Special Olympics - 39%

• Children/Youth - 83%

• Health - 44%

• Underprivileged - 67%

• Sports - 0%

• Age (Seniors) - 17%

• Miscellaneous (Search & Rescue, Mentally Challenged Adults) - 11%

• Women - 28%

• Capital Projects - 22%.

The information is as accurate as possible with accountability taken for overlaps in categories.  The results have now gone to the National Board for consideration in the implementation of a national strategic plan.

With spring having sprung, we are heading into the home stretch of another year of Progress.  I congratulate all members on their successes this year - from the simplest to the biggest of endeavours.  Just this week, I attended two local workshops on volunteerism.  Both commented on the importance of internal recognition in service organizations and the benefits that volunteerism has in both our personal and professional lives.  Recognize the difference an award can make for your members: as a moral pat on the back and in black and white on a resume.

I look forward to seeing the fruits of our labours being recognized in and through your submissions for awarding in Newfoundland.  If we all strive to achieve the standards set out in the awards package, we will be even better members and a stronger organization.

“Let us strive to improve ourselves, for we cannot remain stationary; one either progresses or retrogrades.”
                                                                - Mme. Du Deffand

Yours for Progress,
Marci Brisbourne