A bunch of committees

Here in the retirement home, we the people have power. Not ultimate power, mind you, but a healthy degree of self-determination. If I were to draw a leadership model of this place, I would choose a somewhat misshapen Mickey Mouse. Rather than a large head and two smaller ears, this mouse would have a small head and two large ears. The large ears represent, of course, the Board of Trustees and the administrative staff. The smaller head is us. (Maybe I should have chosen Bugs Bunny for my model.)

Being the “head” has implications I don’t want to explore; in fact, it’s here that the metaphor breaks down. At any rate, we have a voice and that voice is heard. (And, no, it doesn’t squeak.)

In other words, we’re organized. The 400 (+/-) residents together make up the Residents’ Association, with elected officers and regular meetings. A Residents’ Council is made of the officers, plus representatives from each neighborhood (such as the 5^th floor where we live). The council considers problems and opportunities the community faces, makes decisions when appropriate, and brings proposals to the Association for a vote. It’s well organized with extensive by-laws and well-thought-out procedures.

Sounds heavy and cumbersome, but it’s actually quite fun. Both Hal and I are on the council this year, he as 5^th floor representative, me as secretary. (For some strange reason, I have a history of inhabiting the secretary role in all kinds of organizations. It’s not my favorite writing genre, but, oh well.) The discussions can be lively, plus we enjoy being in of the ground floor of what’s going on.

Where’s the power in all this? It’s felt in the daily life and activities of the community. And it’s felt in our freedom to interact with the administration and the board. Both the executive director and the community life director sit in on council meetings and give monthly reports to the association. One of our council members serves as representative to the board.

But the nitty-gritty work behind the life of the community happens in the multitude of resident committees, all under the umbrella of the residents’ council.

Committee is not everyone’s favorite word. When I retired, part of my uncluttering process meant leaving behind committees. Coming from a position in a university as well as from an active local congregation, that added up to a lot of committees I let go. Ah! Freedom!

A few years after retirement, we moved here to the retirement community, surrounded by a lot of people we didn’t know. Neither Hal nor I are gregarious types who march up to strangers and say, “Hi! My name is blah blah blah….” We get to know people as we work together on projects.

The first week we moved in, several people approached us with invitations to be on their committee. While we appreciated the friendliness, we still held the committee idea with caution. I was enjoying a new measure of spaciousness and didn’t want to clutter it up with busy-ness. On the other hand, I knew serving on a committee would be a good chance to make new friends.

The hesitant me won. At least for a time. I decided I’d give myself a year before joining any committee. And then I’d only join with something I felt strongly about and might actually love doing.

The options are many and varied, like the different kinds of trees that intermingle branches and roots in an old growth forest. Some of the committees could better be called interest groups, such as the photography club (that refuses to call itself a committee), the studio arts committee, the puzzle committee, or the movie night committee. More than just interest groups, they work on projects and provide service to the greater community (e.g., the hundreds of puzzles are continually renewed and available to all; the studio arts group makes the art room and supplies available and also sponsors art classes with local artists; we all get to watch the movies and enjoy the photography). The education committee sponsors lectures and seminars. The garden committee maintains the large community garden, making available plots for any interested resident. Some committees are service oriented, such as the different groups that facilitate the worship gatherings; the employee scholarship committee that raises funds so that a number of staff members can take university classes and work on degrees; the technology and communications committee that runs the sound systems for large gatherings, maintains the resident web site, and sends the monthly newsletter. I could go on. There’s enough to keep a lot of people busy for a long time. The added benefits are forming friendships and making a contribution to life in this old growth forest.

So, I took a year to explore my options. At the end of the year, I did something strange. I decided not to join any of the ongoing committees. I formed a new committee.

Absurd, no? Didn’t we have enough?

I thought not. But that is another story.

Definition of grove: a committee of trees