by Judy Wilkinson
Once we realized our Major Gifts Ramp Up campaign would not succeed, I asked the Board to sanction a committee which Gabe Griffith promptly christened the "Phoenix" Committee, in honor of the bird that famously dies and then rises, reborn, from its ashes. The charge to the committee is to chart the road ahead for CCB in light of our current financial situation. That financial situation is rather bleak: with the meanest and leanest budget, with no additional income, perhaps a year.
The committee consists of nine members: five Board members and four other CCB members. The five Board members, by happenstance, all come from Northern/Central California, so the remaining four all come from Southern California to create representation throughout the state. The five Board members include, in addition to myself, 1st Vice President Gabe Griffith, Immediate Past President Jeff Thom, Treasurer Lisa Thomas, and Rob Turner (a long-time member who has been a member of chapters in both Southern and Northern California). Our other four members are all long-time CCB activists: Steve Bauer, President of our Greater Los Angeles Chapter; Christy Crespin, current chair of our Scholarship Committee; Andrea deKlotz, President of the Orange County Chapter; and Catherine Schmidt Whitaker, chair of our Personnel Committee and long-time member of our Publications Committee. The committee is cochaired by Jeff and Gabe. While the meetings are recorded, they remain confidential so that we can speak frankly among ourselves. Informal minutes are distributed to members, and a final report will be issued at some point.
In four short meetings beginning on November 13, the committee has accomplished a great deal. A subcommittee of Steve, Cathy and Andrea have drafted a document for volunteers, designed for those answering phone calls, which includes tips on phone etiquette, as well as an extensive resource guide to goods and services people are always asking about when they call the office.
Two more subcommittees have been created: one to discuss ways to streamline office expenses and the other to discuss milestones that require action so that we don't just wake up one morning finding ourselves needing to close CCB's doors.
Other recommendations have been, or will be implemented. Membership dues to CCB will increase if appropriate Constitution and Bylaws sections are passed at our conference/convention in June. We will hold a combination online telephonic auction (something auctions on ACBRadio) in late September or early October. Such a fundraising effort involves little or no upfront costs as the Board has decided we don't have the resources to move forward with Dining in the Dark this year.
To streamline office expenses, we are investigating the option of subletting office space as we still have nearly four years on our lease. We will further investigate other possibilities if necessary. The Council just increased Nicole's salary and the office is now open five days a week. Nicole sounds even better with her new Bluetooth headset!
The other subcommittee is in fact moving ahead with the underlying charge of the committee: to determine important milestones. How and when do we bring on volunteers? What advice do we extend to chapters and affiliates? How can the Council move forward with the four imperatives we adopted in 2018? What are future recommendations for conventions? Just to name a few areas of consideration.
The first question asked when the possibility of closing the doors was mentioned was for any one of the nine committee members to speak up if they in fact recommended that option. I, who introduced the subject, said that on some days I had that thought, but having been a member since I was 18, (others like Christy chimed in) I ultimately couldn't even consider it. We have work to do at the legislature; we still have generous donors such as funds from the Mannino family to grant scholarships. We can implement our four imperatives laid out in our most recent Case For Support at the chapter level with little or no additional funds.
We plan to celebrate many birthdays beyond this, our 85th. Please make your plans to attend our 85th birthday convention in Fresno from Thursday, June 6, (though some will arrive for possible fundraising events on Wednesday June 5) through Sunday June 9.
As part of strategizing for the organization, our leadership will be evolving. Let me end this column by announcing that I will not seek a third term in 2020. I have thought long and hard about this decision. I want to act responsibly moving forward, but the difference to the organization of whether I end my term as president in 2020 or 2022 (assuming I would be re-elected) may not mean much in terms of the organization, but those two years are huge in my life, having just celebrated my 75th birthday. When I ran for office, until a month before our convention when I declared my candidacy, we were not sure who would lead the organization after Jeff, having served so many years as president, stated he would not run again. We are in a totally different position today concerning future leadership since we have a number of younger members positioned to lead us forward. My fervent hope is that others will consider running for positions on the Board. During this next year, every effort will be made for a smooth transition, and of course, I'm not going anywhere! After all, I will just move over one seat and plan to support the organization in any way I can in my new office as Immediate Past President.
But in the meantime, I plan to work even harder as your president. I have announced to the Board that all my expenses this year will be donated to CCB. And the Phoenix Committee is well on its way to helping the California Council of the Blind chart our future.
