2004 Administrator’s Report
On my desk sits a little clock shaped like an egg, which
tells the time in a strange vertical fashion that took a little
getting used to. There is a small flat space on the bottom,
which allows the clock to stand up straight, but the roundness
nearby means that even if I bump it reaching for a paper clip,
it just rolls a bit and then stands right back up again.
Every time it does that, I think about the staff here in
the CLF office. From time to time things happen that throw
us off kilter for a time, but inevitably we get ourselves
upright and ticking again. We are anticipating some disruption
in our routine when Amber Beland, former CLF intern minister,
and present Membership Administrator, leaves us in May to
move to Maryland. We are happy for her as she and her husband,
Brian launch their new lives together, but we will miss her
lightning speed in the database and her attention to all the
thousands of details involved with managing CLF membership.
Donna Dudley will take on more responsibility in the database,
primarily the complicated querying we do to create mailing
lists for Quest, fundraising, and member management. Amber
has spent time creating task lists and detailed instructions
for much of what she does when managing the members, so we
have an excellent idea of what we need and hope to find just
the right person to take on that position. Sarah Gibb will
also be leaving us and her hours can be rolled into the Membership
Administrator’s hours to create another full-time position
if the right person comes along.
This sabbatical time is challenging, but we have some good
systems in place and things are moving along fairly smoothly.
Jane will join us at your meeting and be back in June for
General Assembly, so the time will go by quickly. I’m
looking at this time as an opportunity to think about the
tasks Jane and I do that could be delegated and these thoughts
will inform our decision about the person(s) we hire later
in the spring.
The rest of the staff is stable and doing wonderful work.
The workload has increased over the last year for everyone
since we have been doing so much marketing out in the UU world.
The Prison Ministry has grown by leaps and bounds. That makes
for busy days, but we manage to find time to enjoy each other
and the members, particularly when we can swap member stories.
What a wonderful, mildly crazy congregation this is. We are
nothing if not unique. I feel lucky to spend time with our
members and all of you.
And standing up straight all the time is pretty dull.
Thanks for all you do.
Lorraine Dennis
CLF Administrator
Last updated June 12, 2005
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