Delegating Work

[Hangar10]

As the newsletter editor for our chapter, and someone who generally tries to stay busy with chapter activities, I often times find myself overworked and on the verge of being burned out. While I enjoy being involved, there are certain times of the year that are really demanding, not only because of the needs of the chapter, but because of the needs at home and at work. I've found myself on a couple of occasions grinding out a newsletter on the day that it needs to be at the printer... not the way I prefer to do things.

Anyhow, I think we may look at forming some committees within our chapter... something we have kicked around in the past, but never really organized or implemented. Hopefully that will spread the load out a bit and offer others an opportunity to have a stake in what we are doing. A sense of ownership is always a good motivator, and makes those involved want to do a better job.

One of the things I hope to introduce to help ME out is to ask for volunteer contributors for the newsletter. As a relatively new member, and one of the youngest, I don't have the background in aviation that some of our members do. I know there have to be good stories and such out there, but I certainly don't have many to tell. Not only would this help me to fill the pages each month, but it will hopefully keep our newsletter fresh and interesting by offering writings from different perspectives rather than just my own. My hope is that I can get 10 volunteers to offer a 1-2 page article one time this year. In other words, each will be assigned a month (Feb - Nov) and they will each be responsible for contributing an article on their month. I don't care if they tell us about a previous project, a lesson they learned, a trip to an aviation museum, or whatever... it just needs to be relevant to our purpose.

In addition to newsletter contributions, another area we could use some help is with our pancake breakfast. It always seems to be the same people being tasked with flipping cakes, sausage, etc. in order to feed the masses. While most of them do not mind, often times they want a break or simply cannot make it to every breakfast, but it is difficult to find replacements because no one is familiar with the equipment or they are just intimidated at the thought. Well, I think maybe we'll simplify that process too by assigning double duty... as in, if it is your month to write an article, it is your month to flip pancakes too. I think this would be great for relations as well! I've heard several of our members comment that they don't know several of their fellow members... well, get that spatula in your hand and you'll get to say good morning to all of them that come to eat! They'll be putting faces with names in no time! On top of that, since our newsletter reaches everyone a few days before the pancake breakfast, it would give folks a chance to say, "Hey Jim, enjoyed your article on [fill in the blank]" as they pass through.

I don't know, does this sound corny? I don't really think it does, but I guess we'll have to wait and see how well it is received at the meeting next month. I plan to hand out cards to those that volunteer (see below), plus I'll jot down their information so that I can send them a reminder a few weeks in advance of their article being due.

Comments?