After 35 years of existence, my regional professional organization will be coming to an end in 2011. There are many reasons it is ending, most importantly those of us who have “driven it” for many of those 35 years are getting old, and we are tired of doing it all. So what went wrong? Could we have kept it going? Was it inevitable? And lastly, is this actually good in the big picture?
We started in 1975, a group of young and old, dedicated professionals in the largest city within a huge, largely rural, geographic region. Ah, the energy, the dreams, the growth. Our organization “grew up” in the mid-1980’s, became a licensed non-profit educational organization, tripled and then quadrupled our small initial membership. In the decade or so since we had started, some of the founders retired, some went on to bigger and better things, but many of us stayed and dedicated ourselves to the education of like-professionals in our region. For some of us, it was the bright spot in our working lives - even though it took so much of our personal time, we learned as much as we taught to others. Most of our places of employment supported the work we did through our organization because they saw it as good PR to the rural areas, and they liked having the “regional experts” in their employ.
In the meantime, a large, national organization was also growing, but exponentially. They were formed in 1972, but in the beginning mostly targeted large urban centers. Then, in the 1990’s, regional chapters of the national organization started to form within our geographic area, but didn’t seem to affect us that much. Our membership dropped by about a third from the mid-1990’s on, but our educational offerings were still well attended, and we still had the human resources to continue to plan and present them. Our financial picture was secure because we had been extremely frugal since almost going broke in the early-1980’s.
In the mid-1990’s we started to have trouble recruiting new board members to take over for some of the older, tired members. Then, for years, no one at all was willing to join us. We kept on going, and “appointed” a few people (i.e., twisted their arms) - some of them stayed and did a wonderful job with us. But then one member had to leave, then another, and another, and there was no one who would consent to the time and work commitment to join us. By 2005 we went from 12 to 10 board members, then shortly thereafter from 10 to 9. Nine was ok, but we had to put much more work and pressure on the remaining board to make it work. Two years ago I retired and moved over 300 miles away from the heart of the organization. I’ve stayed involved, but it is a long drive to make every few months. I feel distanced, not just from my profession (since I’m not on the front lines anymore) but also from the organization. Several others are also saying they need to leave soon, due to personal or work pressures. Their workplace is no longer supportive of their time off working with the organization – things are too tight financially, and a small regional organization doesn’t have the same clout or prestige as the large national organization. So, we can’t continue on as an organization, we need to end it, and that is OK.
Those newer to the profession in the large urban region, who have not been willing to give the time or effort into the regional organization (for perhaps the same reasons of clout and prestige), have begun to form a chapter of the national organization in the very city where the regional organization resides. Ten years ago I would have been incensed. Five years ago I would have been sad, but accepted it. Now I am cheering them on, and hope that they can fill some of the niche we will vacate as we wind down. There is some overlap, and they can definitely provide much better services to those in the urban area. They have a national office (paid!), and national leadership, which help to take the pressure off the locals to “do it all.” How nice!
A few of our board members are devastated, and feeling guilty. Could we have recruited better? Could we have mentored better? Maybe, but only in hindsight. We had limited time and resources, and we functioned on an all volunteer basis. We could not do everything. And, the changing values of the different generations have definitely made an impact. Most of us are baby boomers. Most of the newer professionals are Gen-Xers. We have different values in the workplace. Our organization was founded not just on the values of we baby boomers, but on the values of the generation that preceded us. A major paradigm shift has occurred since then. The national organization struggled for a while to adapt to the changing demands of a new audience, and have been mostly successful. We were too small (and, again, all volunteer) to be able to do so.
I say to our board, give up on your sense of responsibility and give up the guilt. Let’s go out with a bang (NOT a whimper) and leave a legacy in our region that some might remember. We need to support the national chapter, but let them make their own decisions and their own mistakes. After all, they have the national office to guide them. This is a GOOD thing, and it is the right time for this transition.
And, endings do indeed lead to new beginnings.
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