[16338] in APO-L
Re: Question about Post-chartering
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Jeremy Gagliardi)
Mon Mar 3 18:10:46 1997
Date: Mon, 3 Mar 1997 15:08:07 -0500
Reply-To: Jeremy.Gagliardi@CPMX.SAIC.COM
From: Jeremy Gagliardi <Jeremy.Gagliardi@CPMX.SAIC.COM>
To: Multiple recipients of list APO-L <APO-L@VM.CC.PURDUE.EDU>
Sven wrote:
> I think it is an individual case and should not be generalized to the
> rest of petitioning groups.
However, it is more common than most people think.
> Sometimes it is difficult for someone to
> let go of the role of President after giving such an intense amount of
> work and effort into APO. I had to consciously tell myself many times
> after turning over the ball to the next generation that I was no longer
> President and I needed to let them develop their leadership skills.
> Many times they did things differently than I would have liked, but it
> was their chapter and their decision.
Since several of you seem to be so interested in Petitioning Presidents,
I'll give you my whole story in response to the above...
Sven, what you say above is _SO_ true. I was petitioning president from
Jan 92 through Oct 92. My term was to have ended Nov 92. Just one
month before general elections were to have started a motion was made to
"suspend the rules" (in hindsight, it was done incorrectly), eliminate
the entire Executive Board, and hold immediate elections. It was
successful, and there were many reasons for this, but I'm over that now,
and I won't go into it. Anyway, I remained active past that point,
regardless (all the way to May 93 when I graduated). Despite my faults,
my chapter still allowed me to be Constitution Committee Chairman and
Pledge Committee (called "Senior Committee") Chairman in Spring of 93.
My fiancee, Mary Grace (MG), was elected as President in Oct 92, and
served her full term. The chapter chartered in April 93. I continued
to counsel her and the chapter as if I were still running things (and I
was still running a few things up to graduation). Even after I
graduated, I kept coming back for a whole year while MG was still
there. It took me about a year, but eventually I let go, and starting
with the President after MG, I stayed comfortably away from chapter
politics. Nowadays, the only thing I get involved in with the chapter
is my duties as Sectional Staff Representative to them.
Humblingly, I wasn't a very good President, but I did a _TON_ of work to
start the chapter, most of it work that nobody else would do
(Constitution Comm Chair, for instance -- It's that "only Nixon could go
to China" type of thing). I literally poured myself into APhiO, and it
took a while for that to wear off. I must have done _something_ right
for them to give me a Distinguished Service Key, though...MG got one
too. :-)
The important lesson here (and one that I learned very hard) is to lead
for tomorrow. Don't make it "my administration". Delegate authority,
and plan for tomorrow and for the chapter, not for yourself or for any
other individual. A good leader in APhiO has to be a leader, be a
friend, _and_ be of service. I regret that I only focused on the latter
and did not focus enough on the 2 former.
L8r,
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