Message from your Board President, Kay Crider

Dear Elioteers,

With an amazing amount of planning by our excellent committees, task forces, deans and staff, Eliot was able to hold all three summer camps at Seabeck this year for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Registration for each camp was not full, however, we still had a great turnout and very minimal COVID cases. We know we cannot know everything the future holds, but it was great to be together in person and find new ways to do camp activities in our endemic world. 

My work as President has me serving on several committees: Executive/Personnel as we plan for Bev’s retirement in January 2024, Governance, Finance and Program by invitation, and in an ex officio capacity on Leadership Development and Nominating Committees. I also serve on the Fundraising Committee. If you have any questions about the work of any of these teams, please reach out and I am happy to discuss and/or direct you to other very knowledgeable Elioteers who lead or serve on those teams.  

Your board had a productive fall meeting in October, with detailed reports from staff, officers and liaisons about their ongoing work, and robust discussion around what went well and what could be done better for future camps. Thank you to all Elioteers who provided feedback about their camp experiences – we hear you and value your input.

The work of our relatively new governance committee focused on developing a committee charter template with the commonality that committee work should be viewed through the lens of our Strategic Plan, to bring all charters up to date with their current scope of work, and to establish clarity regarding terms to ensure broad Elioteer participation on committees. The template format will help foster consistency, reflect each committee’s current scope of work and create space for those doing the committee work to have a strong hand in framing their charter. In addition, an onboarding process for new board members, spearheaded by Ward Ramsdell, will be launched this fall for the three new board members that begin their service in January 2023.

Any camper should feel free to reach out to me or any board member with questions or suggestions about Eliot. Our goal is to be transparent and be in service to all of you!

As we move forward as an organization, your Board is intent on fostering a culture where everyone feels valued and empowered in their work on behalf of Eliot. With all that is happening in our wider world, it is more important than ever that we continue to grow and learn and play together as we create intentional, inclusive community with and for each other. 

With love & gratitude, 

Kay Crider