A message from the president - Brief Article

Camping Magazine, March, 2002

Marla Coleman

I greet you with humility and anticipation--and unbridled excitement for ACA's future. You have asked me to step into this role for the next three years, and I gladly serve as your guide. I invite you to join me on this journey! We have lots of work to do, and I welcome our working together. Walt Disney remarked, Whatever we accomplished is due to the combined effort. The organization must be with you or you don't get it done. ... In my organization there is respect for every individual, and we have a keen respect for the public."

The path has been paved in the last several years. With Rodger Popkin's leadership, with Peg Smith's visioning, and with each member's passion for the value of a camp experience, our course has been set to become a world-class association. We are at the crossroads to position ourselves as the source and resource of relevant information, knowledge, and insight. Our compass guides us to earn a reputation as a knowledge broker and an eminent influence.

This enjoyable culture is based on trust and high communication. It is time to determine our destination. Where do we want to go? We need to look outside ourselves and into tomorrow. Each of us is part of the guidance system.

We, you and I, expect leadership to provide a clear, universal, and positive vision of an achievable future--an appreciation for our values, expectations, desires, and concerns; and optimism that ability, good tactics, and hard work will lead to success. We need to navigate this itinerary together.

Those notions and innovations regarding the forthcoming environment of our profession are how a "learning organization" is built. Peter Senge, an expert in the field, describes such an association as an "organization where people constantly expand their capacity to create the results they desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning how to learn together."

As we venture out on this passage together, I pledge to you to lead by listening. So please don't mistake me for a "cold caller" and hang up if I phone you one day to ask you these questions:

* What is the benefit you most value from our association?

* What would you truly miss if forced to forgo ACA's publications, legislative monitoring, and best practices messaging?

* What is the biggest waste you see or sense in our association? What are your frustrations with ACA?

* What is the greatest opportunity to provide you with value that we're missing as your association?

* If we were to reinvent ACA and our events and member services from scratch, what would you want them to look like?

And if I, or another board member, should call one of your colleagues instead of you, would you please take a few moments to e-mail me your thoughts on the above questions (marla@ACAcamps.org)?

The trajectory is clear, so let's begin the countdown. We are ready to bring ACA's mission statement to life -- to position ACA as the preeminent, unbiased authority on camp. This task will necessitate every ACA member's influential leadership -- to inspire the beliefs and behaviors of others to unleash the creative genius of all parts of the organization on a day-to-day basis. As we approach the 100th anniversary of ACA, it is our destiny to take ACA to the next level -- it's time to reach for the stars!

Marla Coleman

ACA National President