Baby Boomers R Us

So, how does this affect SLML? Our membership has its share of Baby Boomers and over the next three or five years we could be facing huge membership and leadership issues within SLML. Like my fifty-year-old head of hair the ranks are thinning. My intention is not to be an alarmist. I am not ready to sit in the rocker just yet.

Now is the time to think about the future of SLML. What is our direction? Who will be our leaders? Who will sit in those empty chairs?

If the members of an organization are active and involved then the organization is seen as active and involved. And people will want to join. I would encourage everyone to take a moment and read the SLML Strategic Plan currently in place. We have decided to place our focus on the development of the membership by offering educational and learning opportunities. Great words, but it is the members who must make those words a reality. People willing to serve as officers, committee chairs, and committee members are needed. Members willing to step in as we Boomers step out.

At this moment the Nominations Committee is seeking members for a slate of officers for the upcoming 2003-2004 business year. Don't be modest. Encourage yourself or a fellow member to serve the membership, to put the words of our Strategic Plan into action.

If you want to get your feet wet before jumping into the pool as an officer, then volunteer to serve as a committee chair or member. The committees do the planning and development of all the programs, activities, and initiatives offered to the membership.

The name of our organization is the ST. LOUIS Medical Librarians, yet we have many members located outside of St. Louis. There are members from Springfield, MO; Belleville, IL; Jefferson City, MO; and Farmington, MO. Distance is not an obstacle to participation. Kathy Behm from Edwardsville, IL is currently a Member-at-Large. Email and telephone conferencing can be utilized to facilitate your involvement in committee activity.

Even if your decision is not to serve as an officer or to work on a committee, as a member of SLML, your input is vital. Got a great idea for a program or a lead on a speaker or an issue that you feel needs to be addressed? Communicate your concerns and ideas to the officers and committee chairs of SLML. Make your input part of the planning, part of the discussion.

So, as we Boomers depart step up and fill those chairs. You have three great
opportunities to do so: run for office, serve on a committee, become an active member.