I believe that every organization has a unique character, distinguished by the philosophies embraced, and the actions taken, by its members.
An example was recently posted on the public mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED], where it was stated that if someone wants to come take your shovel, go pick up another one. I think that, if someone wants to come take your shovel, then the organization has failed to define acceptable behaviors. Actions which do not respect and value every volunteer, and every member of the community served, have no purpose in an organization, in my opinion. When changes are made to the well-established duties of a volunteer, and not initiated by that volunteer, common courtesy alone would suggest he be notified by those who decided to make those changes ... and hopefully in advance of the changes being made. An exception would be a volunteer whose behavior constituted a risk to the organization, of course. But in any other case, the same rules apply. Respect. Consideration. Courtesy. Dignity. BWorks expects those behaviors from the young students in its EAC classes. I believe the volunteers, the staff, and above all the Board of Directors, have an obligation to act in such a way as to provide an example to those children. The character of BWorks has gone about some changes. The old BWorks followed the precepts so eloquently outlined in the essay "All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten". One of the volunteers, Robert Citek, who has some excellent rules listed on the wiki, also gave us Robert's Corollary: "If you're doing the work, then your vote counts for more than mine." In an all-volunteer organization, managing to cooperate and work together allowed us to get an incredible amount done over the past two and a half years. This flexibility provided enough structure to manage tasks, but enough freedom to get the work done. And everyone still managed to have fun doing it. I will be at the all-volunteer meeting this Saturday, May 31. After that, I am taking some time off before making any decisions about my future with BWorks. It is my hope that the Board learns to be more clear regarding direction, responsibility, and accountability. Best of luck to you all. Theresa
