President’s Message for November

Thanksgiving greetings!

This will be a slightly shorter message than usual . . . but I encourage you to read my messages from prior months, which can all be found at http://sgminc.org/president.htm. If you are brand new to SGM, welcome! Please do familiarize yourself with the wealth of resources available on our Web site.

This past Monday’s board meeting was wonderful. All four of the newly elected members were present, and only one of the current board members was absent, making for a very cramped Ladies’ Parlor. What a nice problem to have. The new members—who won’t actually be installed until the December 4 potluck—stated their hopes and dreams for SGM. Complete board-meeting minutes will be available for general viewing after they are approved next month, but the short story is that there is a lot of fresh talent coming on board.

This is very good, because we want everyone to take ownership of this organization, not just board members. If you have a gripe, bring it to someone’s attention, especially if you are also offering a solution, or volunteering, or otherwise providing positive feedback.

I’d like to share with you some negative feedback that I received at the November potluck and annual meeting. A disgruntled former member complained that I don’t make it to every Monday meeting. In his opinion, a president should always be present. I respectfully disagree. I actually take great pride in my not being indispensable. When my travel schedule takes me away from you on a Monday evening, I rest secure in the knowledge that I’m leaving you in very capable hands. Besides which, the rest of the board was aware of my travel commitments when I took office last December.

The fact of the matter is, whenever I am home (which is the majority of Mondays, after all), I come to the meeting. I love when people constantly ask me what the program is going to be, because I never know. I never care! I know it will be a great program, and the ones I am least interested in initially often become my favorites . . . case in point: Wendy Lull and the Sex Life of Snails.

So, as much as I want all of you to consult the Web site, please don’t base your decision to come or not to come on the program for the evening. Come regardless and be pleasantly surprised.

Until next month, be out, be proud, and be thankful!

Carl