by Deb Cook Lewis
Now, wait just a minute here! It is not the holiday season, no snow on the ground, no presents under my tree, in fact no tree at all! So what kind of craziness is it for me to talk about new year’s resolutions at the beginning of July?
I worked in state government for more than 40 years. We had the lunar new year in January, the state fiscal new year in July, and the federal fiscal new year in October. This meant that April was the only quarter in which we didn’t start some kind of new year. So I find myself thinking that ACB has at least two new years — the physical and fiscal one in January and our organizational new beginnings every year in July.
At our convention, we elect some portion of our officers and Board of Directors, we consider resolutions that will shape future advocacy activities of the organization, and we adopt changes to our constitution and bylaws that reflect changes in the organization’s practices and processes. I can’t talk about that from where I am — about 4 weeks prior to convention. So I want to talk about a resolution I hope we can all consider as we come into our new organizational year.
My absolutely number one resolution relates back to our core values around keeping the environment safe, respectful and welcoming. This is not about jargon or a slogan. This is truly making an effort to disagree without being disagreeable, to judge with wisdom without being judgmental, and to assume positive intent of others. I actually think that last one about assuming positive intent is sometimes the toughest ask of myself and of anyone else.
I hope, as we begin our new year organizationally, we will renew our passion for our great organization and renew our commitment to work together to achieve our common goals.