MARCIA WEEKS
12 Catherine Street
Portland, ME 04102
(207)749-1610 / / Treasurer
BETSY DAKE
78 Jackson Avenue
Riverside, RI 02915
(401) 437-2858
Organizer
LOLA ORCUTT
58 Kira Drive
Bangor, ME 04401
(207) 945-4668 / President
TAMARA LE
92 Walnut Avenue
North Hampton, NH 03862
(603) 964-6403 / Secretary
Laura Cunningham Firkey
13Greenwood Avenue
Essex Junction.,VT 05452
(802)-879-0764
It is not necessary to read this entire letter at a meeting. Contents may be summarized.
MARCH 16, 2017
Dearest Sisters:
Greetings from the NEDC Executive Board! Thank you for completing the 2016 Chapter Self-Assessment (CSA). We werevery pleased with the positive attitude with which the CSA was received and completed. Your efforts are not only helping your chapter survive, but thrive in the future.
Please consider the CSA an opportunity to work together to achieve your best possible chapter outcomes. Attached you will find your Chapter Self-Assessment and Action Plan form for 2017. You may refer to your copy of the 2016 CSA to complete most fields.
Please note that this assessment and action plan are due June 1, 2017
– but not before May 1st.
Also attached to this email is data gathered by our intrepid NEDC Assistant Secretary, Ann Dederer. Ann has additionally prepared (for each chapter!) an individualized blurb based on your previous CSA submissions. Please use it as a guide for growth and informed reflection as you move forward.
A workshop script and materials on Goal Setting that was presented at the 2016 Convention of Northeast District chapter is available online for your use and reference. Many of those who attended found the workshop very helpful and easy to follow: nedchapters.com>Chapter resources>Forms/References.
You may recall incorporation of the CSA wasoriginally presented to chapters at 2014 convention. It helps facilitate the four-year Official Visit rotation along with the Local Officer Training Sessions (LOTS), the officer duty calendars (both available on NEDC website, Chapter Resources, Forms/Reference) and the Board Buddy system.
The three official visit forms (Corresponding Secretary’s Worksheet, Treasurer’s Worksheet & Treasurer’s Philanthropy Worksheet for Official Visit) are but a distant memory (!) and no longer required from chapters.
The CSA form attached has been revised and now contains all the information needed for an official visit and hopefully, much clearer instructions. By completing the assessment by June 1st each year, the board is able to assist chapters in need sooner rather than later. Please do not consider the completion of the CSA as a report card. It is a tool to helpthe local chapter and the district officers see trends in chapter health.
The CSA has two parts. The first part contains 11 sections on Pages 1-4 and this is referred to as the Chapter Self-Assessment (CSA). All chapters are required to submit the Self-Assessment,
Pages 1 -4 (containing the 11 sections) each year.
The second portion is the Action Plan. The Action Plan is also required for 2017. Each chapter is encouraged to take time to implement their plan. It is highly recommended that each chapter review their Action Plan and make any pertinent adjustments accordingly.
Often chapters know best what issues are percolating and maybe even what should be done to correct it.We hope that your chapter will continue to use the Action Plan to help set attainable goals – and thus outcomes - that can be celebrated by your members.
A great time to do this is during the Officer Transition Meeting each year.
As much as this letter discusses the self-assessment, the board stresses that your chapter life should focus on fun and fellowship. By focusing on fun and fellowship, our organization will grow naturally and we can measure that growth by the quality of our membership rather than by the quantity of members.
Please feel free to contact me or your Board Buddy if you have any questions regarding completing the self-assessment. We will be happy to help.
Lovingly in P.E.O.,
Tamara Le, C/NH
President, Northeast District Chapters
Again - Please note your chapter self-assessment and action plan are due June 1, 2017– but not before May 1st. Please send to:
*New Address*
Ann Dederer, NEDC Assistant Secretary
95 Lydia’s Lane
Lamoine, ME 04605