December is a time when we reflect on the last year’s activities and make resolutions for the year ahead.

Reflections:
As I look back on this past year of service on the CWR Board, many things come to mind: establishing opportunities for growth of the organization, while maintaining a firm handle on how to meet the needs of current members; determining what has been accomplished on the strategic plan, and what still needs to be addressed; finding a balance in clarifying the role of the board in relation to the CWR staff, and adapting to staff changes…just to name a few. As mentioned at the business meeting during the annual conference, CWR has been experiencing “growing pains.” And while we have experienced some struggles, our hope is that we will become a stronger organization with clearly defined plan to move forward.

Resolutions:
To start the new calendar year, the board will participate in a strategic planning session with Michael Steinberg (author of Your Guide to Great Governance) in mid-January. We will start a template to outline a new strategic plan for years 2019-2021. To do so, we are pulling data provided by you, the CWR members. We use the information compiled from the Membership Survey, as well as the conference evaluations, to gauge what we need to address going forward. Thank you to those who took the time to complete these surveys! You are the heartbeat of this organization, and your input helps us keep tabs on the pulse of the organization as we set the direction for the future. We will continue to keep you posted and request additional input as we move forward in 2019. This information will be shared in the monthly e-newsletter, so please watch for updates!

Wishing you a Merry Christmas, as we look forward to a Wonderful New Year!

Kathy Gatliff, Chair
on behalf of the CWR Board of Directors