Message From President Connie Edwards - Please Read
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Greetings from NIIN headquarters in Pfafftown , North Carolina . I have read your message board questions and would like to see if I can help. But before we go there, if you are not familiar with the latest changes, let me catch you up and we can discuss the message board options. The national office of Newborns In Need is now located at 3323 Transou Road in Pfafftown , North Carolina 27040 . Here we are busy setting up the infrastructure of the organization which includes a total revamp of the website, logo updates and program designs for 2008. Our twelve board members include the five officers and various committee members who manage strategic direction for the organization. We can be reached at nationaloffice@newbornsinneed.org and feel free to contact us with your questions, concerns or ideas. Presently the location in Houston is functioning as a hub for chapter correspondence and is shipping items to areas with no chapters. There are small donations that come to North Carolina and we have them re-packed to seed the new chapters as they come on board. We have quite a few new chapter inquiries in the oven and we are assisting them personally through each step. Our first goal is to have a minimum of one chapter in every state but that is not the ultimate prize. Newborns In Need should be a household name, the official 911 for babies and it is my desire, my mission, my purpose here to make sure that happens.
Now about message the message boards. The yahoo message board and the NIN website message boards are not intended to be the vehicle for pushing information about chapter policy or operations. These message boards are for discussions about sewing, crafting, baby concerns and related ideas and thoughts…a place for friends with like interest to share and bond. This is the prime reason why you do not see any of my management team on the boards. There is no communication with the presidents or board members through this site unless we find interesting information that may be of interest to all of you. If that happens, we would likely give the information to Lidia to see if she feels it would be of interest to you the members or if it would be a topic that you would probably have some great ideas we could put to use. She is our eyes and ears on the message board and when I found her I thought I had received an early Christmas present.
We are debating the use of the two boards here at the national office, but have not make a final decision and here is why. The message board on the NIN site will only be utilized by those who visit NIN’s website. If you are not aware of the site, obviously you would not be on the board. The yahoo board is more public as those who participate in message boards will search for subject matter that interests them and that is how they find the Newborns In Need yahoo group site. We are considering physically shutting down the one on the website and designing a page inviting those who visit to participate in the yahoo group board. However, you are the members who utilize the boards. What would you like to see happen? Our website template has been designed and the landing page or more commonly called the home page is awesome! There is time to recreate the message board area so let us know your thoughts. We’ll take your ideas and concerns under consideration and finalize our decision. I can’t promise which way we will go, but my door is always open for constructive and thought provoking communication.
For those of you who are the president of a chapter, all correspondence from our offices will be sent directly to your in-boxes and the jury is out on the president’s list. A survey early on indicated that you prefer not to have to read e-mail and also have to go to the list for information. We are honoring that request at this time and will revisit later when the new site is up and running and we have more time to flush out. The board member list was underutilized when I took over on Sept 1 so it was closed. We can revisit if we need to look at other options after the first of the year.
As president of this awesome organization, I read the message boards as often as I can although I am usually a day or two behind; I make notes when ideas and thoughts as the members make points that would make this organization stronger and better. However, my lack of posting absolutely does not mean myself or my team is not interested in what you have to say. We are working on setting the course for 2008 and we are writing a business plan for the future. I have a wonderful person managing the boards and if she thinks there is something I absolutely need to tune into, I count on her to grab my attention and so that I can address it quickly. Our team has not been strong in pushing who or where we are because right now it is not about us. We are driven to setting a course for success and all our energy is turned to accomplishing that mission. In January we will publish a newsletter with all the details and news and it will be put on the board for you to read.
The national office is thrilled to see your input and ideas and we appreciate all you do for the babies in our country. If any of you are in or near or passing through Pfafftown , North Carolina drop us a line, (Pfafftown is close to Winston-Salem ). We would love to say hello and chat in person. Your enthusiasm and energy is a source of inspiration to all of us here.
One Heart One Mission
Connie Edwards
President
Newborns In Need
The address to send donations to is:
Newborns in Need
PO Box 385, 112 W. Main Street
Houston, MO 65483-2225
...serving God's tiniest children since 1992 through www.newbornsinneed.org
Posted on Dec 3, 2007, 2:35 PM from IP address 75.139.139.248
