Still on the honeymoon. While it is fun getting to participate in and observe board activities from this vantage point, I know the sense of euphoria will not last too long. While I hope I will always have a great relationship with my fellow board members, I’m not so naïve to think we won’t disagree. As I’ve stated to other members already, we may not always agree, but it’s not personal. I hope we’ll always know why there is disagreement and, hopefully, what steps we can take together to resolve the conflict. We’re about truth, not just right, and I hope I’m mature enough to be wrong sometimes. There is no time other than now when I’m likely to be more wrong about some topic or other, and I’m open to being squashed, privately I hope, for having an ill-developed or downright stupid idea from time to time.

The reason it can’t be a personal disagreement is that I have already learned that being on the Board takes lots of time.  Anyone willing to do this and do it well gives many hours to the job, hours often unseen by the public.  I have to respect that.  This unseen time commitment is certainly true of many volunteer activities I’ve had in my life, but never before with such purpose or, frankly, impact and risk.  I have not yet met a Board member (in Cheltenham or elsewhere) that doesn’t feel the weight of their position.  They never forget the honor of it, nor do they forget the responsibility to dedicate time and effort toward doing a good job.