Your New Communications Committee USH

Introducing... your new Communications Committee!

Feature article November 2002

By Carol Sexton

You may have recently noticed a blurb in the Newsletter announcing the formation of a Communications Committee. "What do we need another committee for?" you may have asked. The simple answer is, we've become too complex.

Not long ago we had one minister, one RE director and one office administrator. Our Order of Service was a single-fold page, our newsletter not much longer, and our web presence was a name and address on the UUA web site. Now think of all the staff replacements and additions; the committees, groups and task forces that have come, gone, morphed and grown; the facilities and process changes; and all that we've accomplished since then.

Add to that our ever-busier lives and the burst in our reliance on technology, and it comes as no surprise that staying informed, or simply keeping in touch, has become more complicated at the Meeting House.

What to do? During our interim, President Kitchens convened a Task Force to address Communications issues. This group laid the groundwork for many communications improvements. When task force chair Gail Altschwager took over production of our Newsletter, she also began providing systems support to the office and ran out of free time. Although the task force ceased to meet, individual member's efforts on communications projects continued.

With the arrival of Terasa, it was time for new letterhead. This brought the opportunity for a new look to our USH logo. Enter Carolyn Soutter to fill the design breech. When the newsletter editor's job opened up, Carolyn stepped in again with creative ideas to revamp the layout, and re-aim the focus to provide more in depth news. Addressing the critical issue of Editor burnout, she also initiated a re-engineering of the production process.

Throughout my term as President, many of you spoke to me about USH Communications needs such as where to find things or how to get things done. Issues and ideas arose around such topics as: allocating bulletin board space, building a USH web site, and doing newspaper advertising, to name just a few. It became clear we needed a more comprehensive approach to these important communications issues. And we needed better communication about communications.

I was fortunate that due to her strong interest and extensive involvement in so many aspects of our communications, Carolyn Soutter offered to investigate the status of the former task force's work. She pulled together a group of interested parties already actively working on communications projects to share progress and ideas. Then , despite the numbing shock of the unfolding horror on the morning of 9/11, a kickoff communications meeting was held at the Meeting House. Members in attendance, along with a few additions, became the core of a new Communications task force.

This is a highly energized and focused group. Each person brings specific interest in and knowledge of a particular aspect of our communications. We gratefully acknowledge President Bracken's support, through the participation of Society Clerk, Shai Cassell, and official approval by the Council of our status as a standing committee.

Our mission is to provide consultative support to all aspects of Society-wide communications. We aim to assist council by serving as a first stop for individuals, staff, committees and outside parties with their communications related ideas and concerns. Where appropriate, we will implement improvements to communications, and when needed, make communications-associated policy recommendations for Council approval. Most importantly, we will make sure the critical communications of our Society continue to occur.

Allow me to introduce you to our members and some of their projects:

Carolyn Soutter, is our founder and chair. Her first project was to find and train Kayla Costenoble, as her Newsletter Editor replacement. Carolyn is now investigating cost and designing newspaper advertising formats for the Society.

David Newton is our Webmaster extraordinaire! In no time after offering to develop our USH site, he had developed a prototype of the site we have today. Working closely with Carolyn and Stephanie Spearman, he initiated processes for updating site information on an almost real-time basis. Next, building on work initiated by Tom Reed and John Clegg, he tested and implemented a members email distribution list. His next project is to work with groups and Committees to develop their individual web pages.

From his initial interest in email distribution lists, Tom Reed worked with David to analyze the existing membership database and draft recommendations for enhancements to it's content and use. He is also point man to address improvements to the format and content of the Order of Service.

Shai Cassell is our vital communications link to Council, and has been instrumental in providing guidance in areas of Communications policy

Despite her travels, Anne Bailey has actively helped with defining our mission and scope. When her travel dust settles, her project focus will be the bulletin boards.

Kayla Costenoble is a tremendous asset as our newest Newsletter editor. Besides publishing the monthly news, her goal is to continue simplifying the process so it will be even easier for the next editor.

I bring my experiences with Council leadership and the Strategic Planning Task Force to help keep us focused on the big picture. For my project, I've developed an initial listing of documents important for the functioning of government and operations at the Meeting House. My next steps will be to oversee their collection and storage, physically or electronically.

So, if you're still confused about the Communications Committee, let me offer a few suggestions. If you think your idea or issue is Communications-related, speak with our chair or anyone on the Committee. If we can't resolve your problem immediately, we will discuss it at our monthly meeting and get back to you with guidance.

If you have something to communicate to our Society and want to know how to get out, bring it to us. We can advise on where to put it, how often, who to see, and how to do it. We're here to help.

Let us know of any comments, errors and corrections - thanks (revised 2/21/05)