When I had my two years as president of the Barcroft School and Civic League (BSCL), it seemed like a very easy gig. Partly, this is because I was not looking for ways to make a positive difference if it meant some work for me, but mostly it was due to there not being any major disruptions or problems in the neighborhood. After turning over the reins to my excellent VP, everything looked fine for a few months, and then Covid hit. The new president decided this was not a job he had time to do, and the neighbor he cajoled into being his VP declined to do anything in either role. We had no more Community House meetings, or meetings of any sort for the remainder of that term of office (through May 2020). Randy, the BSCL's #2 volunteer (his wife Barbara is #1) and BSCL
eminence grise, was more desperate than usual as he searched for someone willing to be the following year's president (with the understanding that they'd stand for a second one year term but no more). Deborah may have been his first call. She was hesitant, but I encouraged her, and sweetened the pot by saying I'd be recording secretary (another elected position), thus relieving her of any obligation to take notes or write up minutes. (BSCL had been without a reliable recording secretary for several years; I usually wrote and distributed the meeting notes myself when president.)
Before our first meeting of her term (one year ago), she'd engineered the setting up of Zoom-based BSCL membership meetings so we could resume them (we hadn't had one for eight or nine months). She's had to deal with some difficult personalities to get significant things done (details withheld to protect the innocent, as they said on Dragnet). When you run an all-volunteer organization, you gratefully accept whatever people are willing to do, and we have great volunteers, though some of them have some quirks.
The President at her Desk
Deborah has run the meetings well and is working hard to chart our course through this Covid hellscape. The biggest issue is when (if ever) we can reopen the Community House (CH) for rentals. People used to have parties, classes, even weddings in the picturesque old schoolhouse/church owned and maintained by the BSCL. You can imagine how difficult this decision is, and it's complicated by the fact that the volunteers who take the lead in renting and maintaining the CH have health issues that make them more vulnerable to Covid. (In general, the volunteers are a fairly geriatric bunch.) But we're in good hands with Deborah, and if anyone can navigate this treacherous channel, it's she.
The Barcroft Community House
