FROM YOUR OUTGOING CHAIR: LET IT BE A DANCE

To my dearly beloved UUFM Community,

With this fiscal year coming to a close, the UUFM Board of Directors is now engaged in our annual game of “musical chairs:” (Sound cue: Let It Be A Dance)

• We are celebrating the service of three Board Members who are transitioning off the Board: 
  • Amy Betz (Past Chair)
  • Dan Swenson (Treasurer) 
  • Ruddy Benavides (Member). 
• We are enthusiastically welcoming new members of the Board whose terms begin June 1st: 
  • Jason Coleman (Treasurer) and 
  • Christie Launius (Member) 
  • Chair Elect is still TBD.
• We are officially engaging in the changing of the guard that was symbolically recognized within the second Sunday Service in May, passing the “baton” from one leader to the next. 

Part of the “baton” being passed includes role-specific email addresses. Starting June 1st:

• the Board Chair email address (chair@uufm.net) will get you in touch with Dick Beeman
• the Treasurer email address (treasurer@uufm.net) will get you in touch with Jason Coleman. 

Your new Board of Directors for the 2024-2025 fiscal year will have its First Board Meeting:

Monday, June 3rd, 2024 

5:00 PM – 6:30 PM 

At UUFM and on Zoom

One of the first things each new board does is schedule and plan the Annual Board Retreat. This retreat is an opportunity to bond as a team, to engage in shared training, and to engage in an annual goal setting process. After an unusually demanding fiscal year with big goals (e.g. updating bylaws) and big events (e.g. initiation of called ministry and installation service), we are in conversation with our regional UUA contact, Lauren Wyeth, exploring options for bringing in a facilitator for this year’s Board Retreat. It is our intention that – by bringing in an outside facilitator – we can get more out of our Board Retreat, rather than putting more into it. 

As I reflect upon this past fiscal year and all we were able to accomplish as a board, I have so much gratitude for the team dynamic we created together. I honestly believe that the successes of my time as Board Chair would not have been possible without it. Normalizing a reliance on the collective brain rather than the individual one made it possible to progress even as I dealt with recovery from back surgery, iron-deficiency anemia and other health issues that impacted my functionality. Being able to collaborate and delegate as needed brought out some of our best work – work that none of us could have done alone. Every time I receive positive feedback regarding my leadership during my time as Board Chair, all I can think is: dang, does my team make me look good!

I am excited to be handing the reins of Board Chair over to one of my most frequent collaborators, and one of the most gracious recipients of delegated tasks during my times of need: Dick Beeman. I can hardly wait to see where we go together under Dick’s leadership. With Amy Betz’s gift of a Care Bear in hand, I am ready to shift into that supportive and caring role of Past Chair. Dick – it’s your turn to lead this dance, and you are more than ready. Don’t worry if you don’t always feel that way, though – that’s normal. Remember: it’s not all on you – you have your team. I’m looking forward to continuing the dance and supporting your leadership in the coming year!

Learn to follow, learn to lead

Feel the music, fill the need

To reap the harvest, plant the seed

Let it be a dance!

-Emily Fraser

FROM YOUR INCOMING CHAIR: I AM OPEN, I AM WILLING

June 1 marks the start of a new fiscal year for UUFM, with the usual changing of the guard.  I am hugely grateful for the contributions of all Board members, both those completing their tour of duty and those still “onboard”.  Thank you, Pastor Isa, Marisa, Cathy and Emily for comprising the backbone of continuity to our ever-evolving Board.  Thank you, Amy, Dan and Ruddy for your past service.  The positive influence of your contributions will linger and echo even in your absence. And a welcoming thank you, Christie and Jason for stepping up to the plate in spite of your already-busy lives.  No community can thrive without people like you rolling up their sleeves for the greater good.  As incoming Board chair, I am especially filled with gratitude to outgoing chair Emily Fraser for the beautiful example she has set for me & everyone else, and for her skilled, sensitive, proactive, willing, good-humored and sustained service to our congregation.  There is not enough room on a page to employ all the positive and laudatory adjectives she deserves.  Thank you Emily!  

-Dick Beeman