Board Development Training
The Chamber's success in accomplishing its mission relies on a well-informed and engaged Board of Directors that establish mission and vision, provides governance and assess performance, and an executive team composed of a President and CEO, Executive Committee, standing and ad hoc committees, contractors and volunteers who help develop and implement programs and are responsible for day-to-day operations.
Board members are required to attend periodic Board development training in order to better understand the relationship between Board and professional staff and volunteers, how to effectively oversee the Chamber's direction and operation, and be actively engaged in recruiting new members. In addition to intramural training, organizations such as the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations and the ACCE provide third-party training.
Our most recent board development training was on thursday, January 26, 2012. It was led by Justin Pollock, COO, Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations, with a subsequent follow-up meeting on March 22. Below are Mr. Pollock's impression of his three-hour interaction with Board members:
"I was very impressed with the level of engagement and inquiry from participants. . .They really seemed like a group that understood what was expected of them and were willing to take on that challenge. We did spend a fair amount of time discussing how they can focus on sustainability of the organization and how their conversations and work as board members should focus on the programmatic, financial, and operational sustainability of the organization. They should not get too involved in the day-to-day operations, but should be informed enough to provide appropriate oversight. I also stressed their responsibility for ensuring that the organization is considering succession. Recognizing that at some point the leadership of the organization will transition out, it is incumbent on them to be prepared for making that transition. I think you have a good board with a lot of potential to do good work as long as they stay focused on sustainability issues. I think that the orientation materials [given to new Board members] are very good at helping them understand their job."
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