Is there a doctor in the house?

Whilst motoring down the road in my somewhat classic, low-mileage 1982 Oldsmobile a while back, I noticed something unusual in the machine's operation. Now, my knowledge of automobiles is sufficient for me to recognize a malfunction, but it is not extensive enough to enable me to fix the problem. So I rang up my long-time "car doctor" and scheduled a diagnostic appointment with subsequent repair session. During his "doctoral diagnostic" with strategically placed utterances of "hmmms"  and "ahaahs" my erstwhile mechanic looked up at me from under the hood and said, "You know, your car is not wearing out but it is aging out!" Never-the-less, my knowledgeable "car doctor" identified the aged-out parts, excised the malfunctioning machinery and replaced what had become inadequate with updated technology.

Whilst evaluating our classic, high-mileage Minnesota Senior Federation along with the team searching for interim leadership to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of our legacy founder, we noticed an accumulation of unusual conditions regarding our "machine's operation." You have already heard me refer to a trinity of crises;  A crisis of membership, a crisis of leadership development and a crisis of finances. Although our collective technical knowledge of non-profit organization is sufficient for us to recognize a malfunction, it seems not extensive enough to enable us to fix the problem. 

After pouring through more than 35 resumes and conducting many personal interviews, our search process identified an outstanding candidate with training, experience and credentials in the specific areas where our Minnesota Senior Federation seems to have what could be diagnosed as a malfunction. You should find a short bio of Reid Zimmerman elsewhere in this issue of Senior News, but suffice it to say here that his credentials and experience in organizational development, nonprofit effectiveness, leadership development, continuous quality improvement and fund raising, to name just a few things, are what led us to his selection. What remains for us now is to allow him access, listen to his counsel and get on board with renewal.

Never let it be said that The Minnesota Senior Federation is wearing out and disregarding individual longevity, following the pattern of "Seniority Rocks," our job is to let folks know we are aging up not aging out. Guarding against wearing out or aging out requires an informed diagnosis followed by high-efficacy treatment and to that end we now say, "There is a doctor in the house!"