Hello everyone. I am very sorry to have missed our last planning meeting. Please accept my sincere apologies. However, my head has finally stopped hurting and perhaps it will leave me alone long enough to get back to work with and for you all.
The “mission statement” still appears to be in transition - formulation and that is all well and good as long as it does not change so drastically as to require significant changes in any goals you may have for the Forum as a whole or any of its more specific focal areas represent by its various programs. Carol’s observations re: the recently revised mission statement’s apparent failure to answer for some the question “why?’ (or “what for?”) is key to the development of any goals and their implementation because one of the roles of a mission statement is to define the parameters of the organization and its activities. Please keep that in mind as we continue to revise the mission statement for it will have implications concerning any goals we may wish to pursue. With all that in mind, and with a view toward formulating some actual goals and their “operational objectives” – that is, things that would need to be done in order to achieve them – may I suggest that each of us look over the Forum topics for the year and think about what you would like to see achieved [that the Forum could do or help facilitate within the parameters of its “mission”]for at least those topics which are of greatest interest or importance to you.
Achieving a consensus on goals and actually implementing them is at least as difficult as formulating a consensus about a mission statement. However, not doing so means the difference between being effective in actually achieving something or not. It would seem that at least one of the “reason for being” of the Forum is to encourage and energize the community to take action to address the important [indeed, in some cases literally vital] issues confronting and affecting all of us who live here. So... its our Forum and our community. Let’s make it work.
Thanks for your patience, Paul