> Hello,
> Have any of you formed Community task forces, or coalitions that have =
> been active for more than 1-2 years??  Our community has a task force =
> but the interest of the members has been decreasing and attendance is =
> worsening.  Any ideas for member recruitment or increasing enthusiasm =
> would be appreciated.

I was discouraged when our local coalitions seemed to come and go.  During
one dry patch I started attending meetings of the far more robust coalition
in the next county, one begun by my dear friend Betsy Young (whose death 2
years ago meant she fell one year short of attending the ILCA conference as
an 80 year old).

Surprise!  The first "coalition meeting" I went to had just two people -
Betsy and one other.  She considered her coalition to be thriving so long as
*somebody* was involved, even if the only somebody was Betsy.  And every so
often they'd pull off a conference or display or some such, during a period
of greater interest.

Following her example, I decided our local coalition would thrive no matter
what.  Right now, it's in its 14th month of vacation, but I'm not at all
worried because *I'm* still thinking about it.  One of these day I'll rev it
up again.  The players will be slightly different but the goals will be the
same.  We've done some nifty things in the past that we'll build on, we'll
do nifty things again that are already partly planned, there's money in the
bank that continues to grow, and this current break will be irrelevant as
soon as we have our next meeting.

--
Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC, LLLL  Ithaca, NY
www.wiessinger.baka.com

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