My report this month will be brief and cover only two items. The first is membership - our highest priority this year. We’ve had a number of members retire over the last few years, and that will not be slowing any time soon. We’ve also had several members permanently leave the area and others who are inactive due to the effects of the economy. The bottom line is we need to increase our membership and avoid allowing our new members to be inadequately mentored.
Our FSO-HR, Ed Walters has a big load on his plate. Our flotilla goal is to bring in fifteen new members this year, with a ‘stretch goal’ of twenty or more. It can be done; Flotilla 98 increased their membership by around twenty-five last year.
Ed needs everyone’s help, in both recruitment and mentoring. Our best sales people are our members. Any opportunity you have to promote Auxiliary membership is a big help. Many of our new members come from personal referrals of other members. Participating in our Program Visitation activities is helpful not only for membership, but it also promotes increased attendance in our safe boating classes – which by the way, is another big source for new members.
For those of you with public speaking abilities; our FSO-PA, Neil Arnal is working to develop a ‘speaker’s bureau’. This would be a list of target associations and groups that would be a good potential source of members. Please contact Neil if you’re interested in promoting the flotilla through public speaking, or if you have a recommendation of a group for us to contact.
Mentoring is the other area of membership that we need to keep improving. To date, a small percentage of our membership has volunteered to be a mentor. Mentoring is a nice way to meet new people and expand personal relationships.
Relationships bring me to the last item for this month. There have been a lot of changes in the Coast Guard and Auxiliary over the past three years. While there will be more to come, the Commandant, Admiral Papp, established four cornerstones for the course of the Coast Guard family during his command. He stated, “We will set a course that steadies the Service, honors our profession, strengthens our partnerships, and respects our Shipmates.”
I think the last of those four, “respect our Shipmates” is probably the one we need to keep at the top of our list. While we may not always agree with each other, we should always assume the best intentions from one another. Respecting our shipmates is about taking care of each other. We can’t achieve any goal if we don’t maintain good working and personal relationships as we move forward. The best way I know to do this is to have some fun along the way. Do what you enjoy and good work always follows.
Regardless of the challenges, I have enjoyed working with everyone and appreciate the help you have provided me and the flotilla. So enjoy yourself and I hope we will increase our fellowship and social activities in 2011.
As always, we are Semper Paratus.
