My Time On Main Street

A few years ago I signed up to be on the board of directors for a small organization who's goal was the  revitalization of downtown Portsmouth. I thought it would be a fun way to give back to the city. In 2010 I was asked to serve as the groups Vice President. I gladly accepted the position with anticipation of serving as president in 2011. This morning was the last board I presided over as president of Main Street Portsmouth.
Going into 2011 there were some high expectations, not only from myself but from the organization.
We began the year with two employees, a part time director and a full time program assistant. A few months into the year our director submitted her resignation. She offered to stay on until she found another job or we found another director.
Shortly after that happened our program assistant offered her resignation, because her husband had taken a job somewhere else that would require them to move. So at that point we were down to one part time employee.
In the mean time we organized and held our first golf tournament, which was a successful fundraiser.
I will spare you further details but after a few months we started the search for a new director. After much conversation and discussion we were able to hold interviews.
We decided on our next director shortly after. As with all new employees there was a time of transition with more questions than there were answers it seemed.
As the president of the organization I stepped up to answer the call of guiding the organization back to stable ground.
If I had to put a theme on 2011 for Main Street Portsmouth, it would have to be "Winds of Change." The winds that blew were not bad winds. I think we faced the challenges head on and was able to come to a solution as a community.
If we were unable to come together the way we did, it would be hard to tell the situation we would be in today. I think we are a people vested and dedicated to this community and we are going to do what it takes to make a positive change.
As of this morning I have moved into the roll of past president. In this position I will be forming a committee that will bring forth recommendations for new officers and board members in 2013. There are also a few side projects I hope to get to, in between.
One of the last things I have to do as president is to perform an evaluation of our director. That will be done on Monday. I pray it goes smooth and that we will be able to come away from that conversion more committed to the mission at hand.
As a token of my service the board presented me with a plaque that states "Main Street Portsmouth presents to Wayne Allen in appreciation and recognition of service as president 2011."
One of the things I know for certain looking back on this experience is that I have grown in more ways than one. As I told them this morning in my presidents report "it's been a good ride."