The Morris Community Foundation has two board members who have announced that they will be retiring from the board this summer: Rev. Chuck Richardson and Andy Hunt. This is sad news for us simply because they are two very hard-working individuals who have brought ideas, energy, and responsibility to the table.
However, “hard-working” may be the key word here. If they are hard-working for the Foundation, you know they are hard-working in the other areas of their life: family, work, church, etc. We appreciate that we can’t all do everything for everyone, so we thank them for their service and wish them well as they move on to work harder for others!
Therefore, the Morris Community Foundation is seeking candidates for two open positions on our volunteer board of directors. Our nomination policy states that we will advertise publicly so that we have every opportunity to recruit new board members who are our community’s “most capable and involved civic leaders” who have a circle of influence for issues and fundraising. Therefore we invite you to submit names of candidates that you believe will make a good fit with our organization, mission, and leadership.
Our current board of directors is made up of some great civic leaders: Jim Baum (president), Sue Rezin (vice president), Dick Walker (treasurer), Ron Evenson, Andy Hunt, Carol Narvick, Jim Peterson, Rev. Chuck Richardson, Dick Schweickert, Dr. Ann Marie Struck, and Ralph Wolter. I’d like to publicly thank them for their guidance, governance, and leadership – they certainly make my work life easier!
Thinking about candidates for our board also got me to thinking about all of the other volunteer boards we have in our community. We have many! According to GuideStar.org, a website devoted to not-for-profit oversight, we have over 100 not-for-profit organizations in the 60450 zip code. This includes churches, Scouts, and social service agencies. This list doesn’t include school boards and city councils who are also volunteer-led boards.
If each of those organizations averages 10 volunteer board members, that’s 1,000 volunteers. If each of the 1,000 averages 3 hours per month, that’s 3,000 volunteer hours per month – 36,000 per year. Okay, one more: 36,000 annual hours is 900 40-hour work weeks. Wow!! And that’s just board members – it doesn’t take into account all of the non-board volunteers that do so many other tasks for our area’s not-for-profit organizations. Wow – you all are good!
My point is: Morris and Grundy County has a fantastic support system of volunteers and this makes for a better quality of life. If you are already one of our community’s volunteers, thank you so much for your dedication. If you are not yet a volunteer somewhere for something, please consider it – you won’t be alone!
Foundation candidate names can be submitted to 105 E. Main, #202, Morris, IL 60450 or [email protected].
Thank a volunteer today!
Box:
60450 = 100 not-for-profit organizations;
If 10 volunteer board members each = 1,000 volunteers;
If average 3 hours/month = 3,000 volunteer hours/month;
3,000/month x 12 months = 36,000 annual volunteer hours;
36,000 divided by a 40-hour work week = 900 unpaid work weeks of volunteer board members in the 60450 zip code!!