Sometimes You've Got To Pass The Baton

This Thanksgiving vacation I spent a lot of time being grateful but also thinking about what matters to me as a human being. One of those priorities, though I never exactly said it flat out, is  helping other people find empowerment and personal growth.

This is one of the aspects of the Federal Communicators Network (FCN) that is most enjoyable to me. Holding events that help other feds to learn a new skill for free. And over the past year, working with feds to run the network together.

During the holidays it hit me that 2013 is upon us soon. Meaning, it's time for the first-ever election of the Federal Communicators Network (FCN) Board.

This is a pretty big deal for us. We're not run by a single person anymore, and there is no automatic renewal of responsibilities.

This comes after a heck of a year in terms of accomplishments (check out the blog for links etc.):

• We now have an official charter and a Board.
• We launched our social media presence on GovLoop, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and now a blog.
• We have our first-ever strategy - which led us to close the Facebook group and focus on building our network mostly on LinkedIn.
• We held Board meetings live and on the phone.
• We started to partner with the NAGC for some events.
• We continued to hold training events, initiating teleseminars and webinars to reach those only able to attend remotely. This led us to rack up three times the number of attendees, on average, than in the past - sometimes 100+.
• We also introduced a new format for our email newsletter.

All of this is due to our amazing Board of Directors working together. 

And now it's time to pass the baton.

I've said to the Board many times that I don't want FCN to be "the Dannielle show" and I mean it.

So while I'm going to continue helping out in 2013, for sure, I'm not running for the Board, either as Chair, Co-Chair or as a Task Force Member. It's time to give other people a chance to run things.

Right now the Board is reviewing the first part of the election process, which is a survey I'll be sending to FCN members to see who they want to nominate.

But in the meantime I wanted to make sure federal employees are aware of this opportunity. 

If you are interested in taking on a meaty, challenging leadership role that is guaranteed to grow you professionally and personally, consider joining FCN and nominating yourself for a place on the Board.

Or maybe you know someone who would be interested - make them aware of the opportunity.

All you have to do is click here to subscribe to the FCN Newsletter, which also serves as our mailing list.

When the nomination survey goes out, it will go to the FCN Newsletter mailing list.

At that time you will have the opportunity to input your name or the name of someone you think might be interested. (Just make sure they consent first!)

The following spots are available:

1) Chair (1 spot)

2) Co-Chair (1 spot)

3) Task Force Member (6 spots)

Process:

1) The names of the nominees will be collected until December 9.

2) There will be another week during which the nominees can make their interest in FCN known.

3) A second survey will contain all the names of the nominees and allow FCN members to make their elections.

We also have space for Advisory Board members but that is not an elected position and you would need to contact the FCN Chair separately if interested.

Click below for the FCN charter, which is also available on SlideShare:

fcncharterv1point2adoptedjanuary102012-120121190056-phpapp01.pdf

You can also check out our blog at www.fedcommnetwork.org. 

Please note: FCN is an independent group of volunteers and is not affiliated with, or sponsored by, any organization or government agency.