Growth and community service
Hi Everyone,
It's been too long mainly because I'm not a good writer, but here goes.
The club is growing in a variety of ways. Membership, Depth, Speed, Maturity, Financially, to name just a few.
With that growth comes new responsibilities.
Particularly the responsibility to get involved with our club. With everything we have going on throughout the year, there are literally dozens upon dozens of ways to get involved and to help improve the club in some way, shape, or form. We want you to join the club and enjoy our wonderful sport of rowing. We NEED you to get involved beyond that and help the club get better on a yearly, monthly, and even weekly basis.
As luck would have it, we have ample opportunities for everyone to get involved. We have Many committees to choose from so you can play to your personal strengths. Safety, Fundraising, Competition, Equipment, Regatta & Events, Communication, Membership, Etc.
It doesn't matter if you're closing a deal on a million dollar grant or making sure that the cob-webs are cleared off the ceiling and the floors are swept. Everyone here has something to contribute and I am asking you to please do so.
Most people don't want to get involved because they want to stick in their normal little routines. I understand that and I'm guilty of it myself HOWEVER I've never once regretted contributing time/money to the greater good if I believe in the cause. I do very much believe in the Augusta Rowing Club and it's "cause".
Ben Franklin is credited with saying "Tell me and I forget, Teach me and I might remember, Involve me and I learn" I take that to mean it is no longer "enough" to just join this great club we are building or to be told about how wonderful the sport is. It is time to get "involved" on a much deeper level and ensure that you get stronger as the result of everyone helping you, but also that everyone else gets stronger as a direct result of your help. When you think I am asking too much of you please remember that as a coach it is my job and passion to always ask more of each of you until we discover what your upper limits might be. THEN my job is to help you train past those and improve from there.
We are no longer going to cater to people who cannot and will not live up to our standards. We will not lower our standards for those who won't try. Effort is always intentional and Effort always matters. It's time today to volunteer some time with one or more of our committees and put your expertise to use helping everyone here become more.
As our committees grow, so too will our feeding system into the board of directors. It's excellent training ground for the young folks to get experience behind the scenes and making sure they have a direct input on the future of the club. All Juniors are welcomed and encouraged to help on any committees they choose.
Any time spent with committee work also counts towards your volunteer/community service hours. This is another area we will grow a great deal in the future. Our membership averages between 20 and 100 hours of community service per year. I would like to grow that number up closer to 500 hours per year so that everyone in the CSRA thinks of the Augusta Rowing Club as a point of pride in the community and they line up to support us in our activities.
In short, now is the time to get involved and help everyone around you grow. It will make you much better in the long run.
