At our September meeting, we talked about creating an organizational structure for Sonoma County ACES Connection. I have attended plenty of community meetings (perhaps too many) where the deliberations about Vice-Chairs and Secretary-Treasurers just seemed to suck all the energy out of the room. I want to reframe that discussion.
When you first heard about ACES, something clicked and you got excited. You came to the meeting with a passion about ACES. What is that passion? What could our group to do that would make you feel your time and effort was well-spent?
For some, spreading the word about ACES is key. Seeing the “aha” moment in people’s faces and mobilizing the community is your passion. For others, improving your skills and building local resources is what excites you. Things like developing that new self-assessment tool, and finding the right staff contact make you happy. Or perhaps you are a “people person.” You seek to bridge differences and keep the communication flowing. You know that sharing those personal stories about ACES keeps us all centered and focused.
Personally, I tend to fall in the “planner” group. I like imagining where a group could be in six months or two years and love when a plan comes together. And of course we need those folks who are the “producers” who say, “No, we’ll need a bigger room, I’ll get it.”
I developed this draft committee plan (the file is also attached), based on the idea that people should work on those areas that most excite them. If you have more than one passion, and the time to work on multiple committees, then do so. The committee names and functions can be changed. If there is an important missing component, let us know. We are at the point where stuff is starting to happen and we need a way to tap into people’s skills, interests and passion so that it happens well. I look forward to our discussion later this month.
Sonoma County ACES Connection (SCAC) Draft of Mission and Structure | |||
Working to make Sonoma County a more trauma-informed community by:
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Committee | Purpose | Tasks | What’s Your Passion? |
Community Education | Educate the general community about ACES |
| Spreading the word about ACES and expanding our community “Make it bigger” |
Best Practices | Gather and disseminate information about local resources and best practices |
| Improving our professional skills and advancing local trauma-informed practice “Make it better” |
Operations & Planning | Formulate the group’s mission, vision, roles, procedures and strategic plan |
| Envisioning, assessing evaluating and improving. “Make it more directed” |
Membership & Outreach | Recruit members and provide ongoing support to membership |
| Sustaining the community on an interpersonal level. Valuing and sharing personal narratives. “Make it more connected” |
Resource Development | Garner funds and resources to support and sustain the group’s overall mission |
| Finding the resources, funds, and donations to move forward and do our work “Make it happen”. |
Steering
| Coordinate committees and manage business between meetings
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| Composed of Committee Chairs (and SCAC Officers, if any) |
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