Note
As many people know, this past weekend was the retreat for the OUSA Board of Directors. We spent all day Saturday and more than half the day Sunday talking, getting to know each other, and learning about how the federation runs and where we might be interested in taking it. It was a great educational experience, and the fact that all 12 board members were present speaks volumes to the levels of energy and engagement that I saw around me all weekend.
Barb posted a good summary of what we talked about to Board Net, but to summarize, we listened to presentations on the following:
- OUSA's mission statement and what we'd like to see five years from now
- A detailed report about the federation's finances, including the distinction between restricted, non-restricted, and Board-designated funds, and Team accounting
- A presentation of the current committee structure
- A presentation on communications, including how to facilitate the Board's communication within itself and with the membership of the federation
- A presentation on some marketing ideas, and on membership models we could look into in order to raise some much-needed revenue
It was a great weekend of ideas, and I foresee a lot of discussions about the future of the federation in the upcoming weeks in months. I don't really understand how the BOD got things accomplished with a quarterly meeting schedule. I expect that we will be meeting, whether in person or over the web, a lot more frequently than that, especially in the coming months.