[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by Ken Patton

Its pretty encouraging to see that there can be some good discussion on CD even after a declaration of war (dangit Dan, that was extreme - its good that you have followed up in a more diplomatic fashion, keep trying). CD is a good place to have the discussion imho, because I don't think there is much discussion going on anywhere else. The concentration of volunteers is probably pretty high at this site. Hopefully the discussion continues in a positive way.

The FiM organization has some very hardworking and incredibly dedicated individuals who have a point of view. My experience has been that people who may have other points of view are not typically encouraged to give input to FiM. I'm one of 'em. I have tried to give input or ask questions in the past, with multiple approaches (private, public, official, unofficial), to get discussion going about making things better, and feel like it has not gone very far, and even put some people on the defensive. It would be great if the trend toward transparency applied in this great state too.

Its one thing to have a list of people who you don't want in key positions because you don't think they will do a great job. Its entirely another to have a list of people who you don't want because they don't share your point of view.

What to do? Maybe the best thing to do is to volunteer where we are appreciated. Communicate directly with the volunteer coordinator. Help the volunteer coordinators do their job, and expose situations where they are being overridden by politics. Make sure we are qualified for the jobs we are going after. Keep the discussions about this stuff going on, so others can learn from the experiences.

We definitely have to keep volunteering, we know that - FRC needs us.

Ken

I just really took the time to read and re-read Ken's post. It has my attention.

(There are at least 3 topics in this thread that I can count but I think this post connects directly with some of Dan's frustrations.)

One of my fears/concerns regarding districts is the potential for little fiefdoms to create themselves due to any number of reasons - one being lack of experience in managing the program on a district level. Another being a lack of common vision or shared vision for continual and on-going development at a district level. If voices are being silenced or shut out and no one is willing to listen to the wisdom of someone like Ken Patton and be open to discussions regarding how to improve and evolve by listening to wise input, then this shows a weakness, not a strength, in the developing program and its implementation.