I have thought a lot today about what I should say in this first post in over a year. Today is the 10 year anniversary of my first full day of my current position as Executive Director of Ada Regional United Way. If you are reading this and you also recieve our ARUW e-newsletter you know possibly a little of what I am going to say.
My plans are to share the top 10 things I have learned in the past 10 years.
Today, I simply want to focus on that first day.
I interviewed with a large representation of the ARUW Board of Directors. I knew a little about UW as I was currently employed with Camp Fire USA (for 9 years). It was a little heart wrentching considering leaving a job I loved, but it seem "right". The board members plainly stated that this was uncharted territory since I (if hired) would be the first full time staff. They mentioned that an early childhood initiative would be a part of my job. No one really knew what that would entail; but it was important.
On that fateful first day, I suddenly realized that I no idea where to begin.
More to come.
Check back in for the next post.
Monday, April 1, 2013
Thinking back over the past 10 years
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Partnerships in Pontotoc County
I spoke of "Save the World Tuesday" last month and it was here once again today.
When we begin talking about partnerships in our community between our member agencies, the butterfly affect begins to be seen. One agency/organization's attendance at one or more of these monthly meetings turns into additional opportunities to partner.
The first Tuesday of each month begins with Systems of Care Executive Team meeting where those of us serving on this team are presented information regarding families receiving wrap around services, family counseling and parenting classes, then we merge with the Systems of Care Community Team, Pontotoc County Turning Point Coalition and Community Council where discussion turns to overall community well being. It may appear that these are certainly a lot of groups meeting together in this second meeting, but in actuality it provides one and one half hour of partnerships and potential partnerships. Today's spotlight discussion was the STOP Coalition (meeting on the 2nd Thursday monthly) which receives funding from the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) and focuses on tobacco cessation. Reducing tobacco usage not only affects the health of a community, but has an economic impact as well. This discussion could go on for quite a while, but not the intent of this posting so we will go forward. The final coalition meeting of Save the World Tuesday is the Pontotoc County Drug Free Coalition with a focus on both substance prevention as well as promotion of recovery. And today, a few of us followed this day of meetings with yet one more where the community members who partnered in writing a grant for our community (which sadly was not chosen for funding) to review remarks from the readers as to why our grant was not chosen. Basically, our community scored very well, actually the same score as that of a few funded grants. There was not much we needed to add, but nice to know what little bits we were missing - in hopes that next we write, we receive.
When reviewing all these meetings keep in mind that attendance to each is approximately 20-30, some of which attend all pull together to make a difference. Of these meetings the total attendance (with some duplication) was 6 plus 35 plus 25 plus 8 (respective) = 74 attendees representing almost that many organizations/groups/businesses/agencies from our local community.
Many of these attendees receive allocated funding from ARUW, many are our close partners in grants, programs, etc. Basically, what I am saying is that there are so many opportunities in our local area to partner it is almost unmeasurable. If a question arises as to a need, if it is not being met, our community begins meeting to determine if there is already an entity to meet the need, if there is not, we begin discussing how to go about meeting the need.
Charity Tracker is our new best way to begin coordinating efforts to identify the true needs of our community as well as determining if there is an entity which meets the needs. As we all begin using Charity Tracker as service providers we learn how much we can increase our partnerships.
As we continue to attend meetings and events meeting new potential partners we also strive to continue to invite more and more to the "table" to discuss what needs there are and how to meet those needs.
There are more partnerships than we have room to list; want to learn more? The best way is to get involved in some way. An easy way to become involved is to contribute to our local United Way another easy way is to volunteer and/or attend community meetings.
The sky is the limit when discussing partnerships in Pontotoc County.
When we begin talking about partnerships in our community between our member agencies, the butterfly affect begins to be seen. One agency/organization's attendance at one or more of these monthly meetings turns into additional opportunities to partner.
The first Tuesday of each month begins with Systems of Care Executive Team meeting where those of us serving on this team are presented information regarding families receiving wrap around services, family counseling and parenting classes, then we merge with the Systems of Care Community Team, Pontotoc County Turning Point Coalition and Community Council where discussion turns to overall community well being. It may appear that these are certainly a lot of groups meeting together in this second meeting, but in actuality it provides one and one half hour of partnerships and potential partnerships. Today's spotlight discussion was the STOP Coalition (meeting on the 2nd Thursday monthly) which receives funding from the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) and focuses on tobacco cessation. Reducing tobacco usage not only affects the health of a community, but has an economic impact as well. This discussion could go on for quite a while, but not the intent of this posting so we will go forward. The final coalition meeting of Save the World Tuesday is the Pontotoc County Drug Free Coalition with a focus on both substance prevention as well as promotion of recovery. And today, a few of us followed this day of meetings with yet one more where the community members who partnered in writing a grant for our community (which sadly was not chosen for funding) to review remarks from the readers as to why our grant was not chosen. Basically, our community scored very well, actually the same score as that of a few funded grants. There was not much we needed to add, but nice to know what little bits we were missing - in hopes that next we write, we receive.
When reviewing all these meetings keep in mind that attendance to each is approximately 20-30, some of which attend all pull together to make a difference. Of these meetings the total attendance (with some duplication) was 6 plus 35 plus 25 plus 8 (respective) = 74 attendees representing almost that many organizations/groups/businesses/agencies from our local community.
Many of these attendees receive allocated funding from ARUW, many are our close partners in grants, programs, etc. Basically, what I am saying is that there are so many opportunities in our local area to partner it is almost unmeasurable. If a question arises as to a need, if it is not being met, our community begins meeting to determine if there is already an entity to meet the need, if there is not, we begin discussing how to go about meeting the need.
Charity Tracker is our new best way to begin coordinating efforts to identify the true needs of our community as well as determining if there is an entity which meets the needs. As we all begin using Charity Tracker as service providers we learn how much we can increase our partnerships.
As we continue to attend meetings and events meeting new potential partners we also strive to continue to invite more and more to the "table" to discuss what needs there are and how to meet those needs.
There are more partnerships than we have room to list; want to learn more? The best way is to get involved in some way. An easy way to become involved is to contribute to our local United Way another easy way is to volunteer and/or attend community meetings.
The sky is the limit when discussing partnerships in Pontotoc County.
Monday, October 31, 2011
November will focus on how ARUW funded agencies partner with one another.
In the next days and most likely weeks, I will be highlighting how the agencies funded by Ada Regional United Way combine their resources to work together in solving the needs of our local community.
You may be surprised in how resourceful agencies operating on limited funding become when they are attempting to meet immediate needs of our community members.
Please - as you read the upcoming information feel free to comment and ask questions.
I am looking forward to learning something new along with everyone else.
Latricia
You may be surprised in how resourceful agencies operating on limited funding become when they are attempting to meet immediate needs of our community members.
Please - as you read the upcoming information feel free to comment and ask questions.
I am looking forward to learning something new along with everyone else.
Latricia
Monday, October 24, 2011
Strategic Planning
Whether you consider strategic planning worse than the torture of having your finger nails pulled one by one or if you enjoy a day of long discuss in which indicator, objectives and outcomes are spoken of in great detail, it is important for the success of any project.
I am one of the crazy folks who loves a good day of strategic planning; mainly because a goal is set to be obtained in the future. If we never set goals, how do we know when we are successful?
Hopefully, every person does a little strategic planning along with budgeting. Another word that can bring terror to some.
I spent most of today, with two of my good friends (strategic planning is always best to do with friends) and two new folks that I just met a couple of weeks ago, pouring over pages and pages of strategic planning. This process requires that you think about what you want or wanted to do. If it is your first attempt at the strategic plan, you will be planning what to do and how to do it as well as determine what determines the measurement of your success. If this is a follow up strategic plan, you will be looking at what you did in the past and determining if those actions were successful or not. Next you correct what did not work and continue with what did.
The challenge of strategic planning is to make one's self look at success and failure along with goals. No couldn't we all do with a little strategic planning?
I am one of the crazy folks who loves a good day of strategic planning; mainly because a goal is set to be obtained in the future. If we never set goals, how do we know when we are successful?
Hopefully, every person does a little strategic planning along with budgeting. Another word that can bring terror to some.
I spent most of today, with two of my good friends (strategic planning is always best to do with friends) and two new folks that I just met a couple of weeks ago, pouring over pages and pages of strategic planning. This process requires that you think about what you want or wanted to do. If it is your first attempt at the strategic plan, you will be planning what to do and how to do it as well as determine what determines the measurement of your success. If this is a follow up strategic plan, you will be looking at what you did in the past and determining if those actions were successful or not. Next you correct what did not work and continue with what did.
The challenge of strategic planning is to make one's self look at success and failure along with goals. No couldn't we all do with a little strategic planning?
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Our Board of Directors
This photo was taken following our October Board of Directors meeting.
- back row: Bill Nelson, Jeff Warmuth, Lucas Clark (seems to be hiding), Tommy Vass, Chris Feiler, Teresa Burrows, Toby Perkins, Barry Burkhart and Frank Williams
- front row: Stacie Carroll, Amy Boatwright, Marianne McFarlin and Suzanne McFarlane
- not pictured: Mike Anderson, Linda Cooper, Tino Gonzalez, Brigette Jones, Mark Morgan,Jayma Newport, Tonie Waller, and Jenny Cypert
I just want to say thank you to each and every one of these board members for taking time to care, "wear the shirt" and make an impact on our local community. - Latricia Bryant
Saturday, October 22, 2011
How much can one dollar really make?
You would be surprised!
One dollar by itself is probably not going to be able to make much of an impact, but 100 ($1 bills) can begin to make a difference.
The great thing about the Ada Regional United Way annual fund raising campaign is that it does not matter if a person contributes a small dollar amount or a large dollar amount. All the contributions are combined to make a larger impact on the needs of our community.
This is certainly not to say that we do not appreciate our Leadership Circle contributors; those giving annually $250 and above. If not for these contributors we would most likely never make goal. What I am saying is that if all you have to give is $1 or $1 a week, don't feel like your contribution is not going to matter.
Dollars are used locally to provide services. Beginning with our youngest community members up to our oldest, the ARUW member agencies make a difference! Each agency receives a specific, but not equal amount of allocation based upon their annual requests.
Our agencies that receive allocated funding from local community donations use the dollars allocated in many different manners:
One dollar by itself is probably not going to be able to make much of an impact, but 100 ($1 bills) can begin to make a difference.
The great thing about the Ada Regional United Way annual fund raising campaign is that it does not matter if a person contributes a small dollar amount or a large dollar amount. All the contributions are combined to make a larger impact on the needs of our community.
This is certainly not to say that we do not appreciate our Leadership Circle contributors; those giving annually $250 and above. If not for these contributors we would most likely never make goal. What I am saying is that if all you have to give is $1 or $1 a week, don't feel like your contribution is not going to matter.
Dollars are used locally to provide services. Beginning with our youngest community members up to our oldest, the ARUW member agencies make a difference! Each agency receives a specific, but not equal amount of allocation based upon their annual requests.
Our agencies that receive allocated funding from local community donations use the dollars allocated in many different manners:
- 2-1-1 Helpline uses funds to pay the human answering questions for those in need in a variety of situations
- Ada Homeless Services provides up to a three night stay in a local motel or utility assistance
- Ada Area Chemical Dependency Center makes counseling and support available for community members in need of assistance for successful recovery
- Ada Senior Care Center provides a day of respite for a care giver and a safe place to stay for an adult in need of care
- American Red Cross provides a caring hand up during a disaster such as a house fire, assistance to a military family in time of need and health and safety classes
- Ada Area Youth Shelter provides counseling and shelter to youth in situations that have gotten out of control
- Arbuckle Area Boy Scouts, Camp Fire USA and Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma train volunteers to carry out year long fun, educational activities for our youth
- Boys & Girls club allows children a variety of opportunities;after-school, summer and many sports activities to choose from
- Consumer Credit Counseling provides assistance in budgeting and credit counseling
- Family Crisis Center provides a shelter for those affected by domestic violence including counseling
- Legal Aid works with our community to provide legal services to those who might not otherwise find help in a legal situation
- PAWS takes care of unwanted animals; finding them a new home and provides spay/neutering of pets to those living at poverty level
Friday, October 21, 2011
How can you "wear the shirt"?
That is a very strange statement if you have not been following the Ada Regional United Way 2012 Campaign.
The first time I used the statement "How I wear the Shirt" this year, I did get some strange looks. As campaign has gone along, those that have heard the statement more than a couple of times are beginning to "get it".
We provided a LIVE UNITED t-shirt to each attendee of our kick off luncheon in September as the theme of the event was "How I wear the Shirt". I have seen several of the attendees proudly wearing their shirt since the event. I smile each time I see a LIVE UNITED shirt in the distance.
Basically, if you have averted me over the past months, I need to update you on exactly what it means to "wear the shirt". It does not have to be a physical wearing of the LIVE UNITED t-shirt; although it is very comfortable and fashionable in the right setting. To wear the shirt means to be a part of the community. Some wear the shirt and no one but them ever know it; the tireless volunteer behind the scenes at a food bank, clothing drive, community event wears an important shirt. That shirt may take may shapes and/or sizes, but without that shirt, nothing would get done. That part in some situations may be played by only one person working tirelessly along or may be up to a large group of people partnering for success. Another shirt wearer may be like myself; out and about almost everyday in our community talking to people, promoting activities and partnerships whether wearing a physical LIVE UNITED shirt or not. (As a lot of the times you see me I am in some form of United Way attire.) Both of these are from one extreme to the other - forms of wearing the shirt. There are so many more examples most of which are "somewhere in-between".
Some folks are known for exactly what they do in the community, but some are those quietly in the background working away with no one else knowing what they are doing. Think what would happen if all these folks stopped wearing the shirt. Disaster would ensue.
You mostly likely know if you "wear the shirt". Please comment on this post or on the Face Book group "How I wear the shirt".
click here to visit the group How I wear the Shirt
I really think we would all be surprised to learn what others are doing to make a difference in our community.
The first time I used the statement "How I wear the Shirt" this year, I did get some strange looks. As campaign has gone along, those that have heard the statement more than a couple of times are beginning to "get it".
We provided a LIVE UNITED t-shirt to each attendee of our kick off luncheon in September as the theme of the event was "How I wear the Shirt". I have seen several of the attendees proudly wearing their shirt since the event. I smile each time I see a LIVE UNITED shirt in the distance.
Basically, if you have averted me over the past months, I need to update you on exactly what it means to "wear the shirt". It does not have to be a physical wearing of the LIVE UNITED t-shirt; although it is very comfortable and fashionable in the right setting. To wear the shirt means to be a part of the community. Some wear the shirt and no one but them ever know it; the tireless volunteer behind the scenes at a food bank, clothing drive, community event wears an important shirt. That shirt may take may shapes and/or sizes, but without that shirt, nothing would get done. That part in some situations may be played by only one person working tirelessly along or may be up to a large group of people partnering for success. Another shirt wearer may be like myself; out and about almost everyday in our community talking to people, promoting activities and partnerships whether wearing a physical LIVE UNITED shirt or not. (As a lot of the times you see me I am in some form of United Way attire.) Both of these are from one extreme to the other - forms of wearing the shirt. There are so many more examples most of which are "somewhere in-between".
Some folks are known for exactly what they do in the community, but some are those quietly in the background working away with no one else knowing what they are doing. Think what would happen if all these folks stopped wearing the shirt. Disaster would ensue.
You mostly likely know if you "wear the shirt". Please comment on this post or on the Face Book group "How I wear the shirt".
click here to visit the group How I wear the Shirt
I really think we would all be surprised to learn what others are doing to make a difference in our community.
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